Two Holidays, One Wish
by Warrior Nun
Summary: Ichimaru Gin the Skeleton was constantly chasing after Ichigo the Ragberry Doll. But sadly, Ichigo wasn't interested in him and bored of the same routine . As Gin tries to think up a way to win his doll's heart, he came upon a door to another town...
1. Chapter 1: Halloween Town

**Featured pairing(s): GinIchi, one-sided ShiroIchi, possible other one-sided semexIchi**

**Setting: The Nightmare before Christmas**

**Rating: M**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the Nightmare before Christmas. (I wish I do, though…) They both belonged to Tite Kubo and Tim Burton respectively.**

**Author's Story Note: The cast of The Nightmare before Christmas will be filled in by the Bleach Cast, and that includes a slight twist: Instead of ragdoll-monster!Ichigo chasing after Skellington!Gin, it'll be the other way around. Who doesn't like a seme chasing after the uke?**

**Warning:**

**May contain some themes that are not suitable for children under the age of 18 and up, physically and mentally. Following themes are guy-on-guy, violence, lemon, possible case of OOC (Out of Character) and things of that nature. Adult supervision is advised.**

'_Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems,_

_In a place that perhaps you've seen in your dreams._

_For the story that you are about to be told,_

_Began with the holiday worlds of old._

_Now you've probably wondered where holidays come from._

_If you haven't, I'd say it's time you begun._

_For the holidays are the result of much fuss,_

_And hard work for the worlds that create them for us._

_Well, you see now quite simply…that's all that they do._

_Making one unique holiday…_

_Especially for __**you**__._

_But once, a calamity ever so great…_

_Occurred when __**two holidays **__met by mistake._

Danny Elfman, The Nightmare before Christmas

A young man sat upon a cobblestone wall, combing his long orange hair (1). His arms were covered in stitch-like scars, and his skin looked almost as if they're patches of rags. He heard the sound of the wind blew throughout the night air like a Banshee's whisper, and dried leaves flew in the process. Soon the wind became strong enough to move a pumpkin-head scarecrow to face another direction. Upon the scarecrow's chest was a sign saying…Halloween Town. And in that eerie and twisted-looking town, he could hear the singing and music even from where he was sitting.

Yup…just another Halloween night, the same old thing every single stinking year of his life.

-

Ichigo sighed as he walked through the town and listens to the townspeople singing the same song, while doing the same thing that they do every single year since…ever.

Sure, he was proud to be part of the dream world where he helped out the Human Realm to enjoy the holiday…but lately, Ichigo wanted…more. But he couldn't place his finger on it. As he was walking, Ichigo didn't notice that they're nearing the finale. Despite, seeing this countless times, he decided to watch until the end and when it's time to go back home.

His old man was yammering something about "new creations." Or was it…new babies?

He leaned against the talking tree, as it (or he?) and the hanging skeletons chanted "Halloween" with the other townspeople as the children chanted la-la, watching the pumpkin-headed scarecrow wowed the crowds with its flame-engulfed body and gentlemanly dancing before diving into the fountain. Ichigo stifled the attempt to yawn as the town's leader (not counting that creepy and useless pervert of the mayor) rise out of the fountain like the dead rising from its grave.

Instead of taking form of the pumpkin-headed scarecrow, he now took form of a pale thin man in a black pin-stripe suit. Attached around his neck was a bow-tie that vaguely looked like a cat's head with spider legs or bat wings. His eyes were narrowed to slits, making his face resemble a fox's from the Human Realm. His silver hair shone in the full moon's light as he gave a charming smile (creepy, in Ichigo's opinion, at least) when the townspeople ended their traditional song with a cheer. Ichigo, on the other hand, just rolled his eyes with a sigh.

He clapped slowly while the rest clapped with great enthusiasm.

That was the usual performance of their King of the Pumpkin patch…Ichimaru Gin.

-

Author's Notes:

Refers with Ichigo's new hollow form. I think he looks pretty with long hair.

Please review (and sorry for the shortness and if it's being rushed)


	2. Chapter 2: Pumpkin King

Gin politely bowed before the cheering crowd as he steps gracefully down from the fountain.

"This is a great night, everyone," He commented, the smile was never leaving his face. "Thank ya'll, I really appreciate it."

"No, no, thank _you_, Gin," Gin looked over and saw Mayor Sousuke Aizen approaching him. He was adorned in a simple black suit and tie, making him less like an important figure in town. But nevertheless, his air of authority and charisma never falters. The skeletal man saw a young girl dressed up like a stereotypical witch trailing behind him devotedly. Must be his attendant/secretary…what's her name again? Momo?

"Without your great leadership, this night wouldn't go well as always." He commented, his expression is quite unreadable, and his smile completes the mask.

Gin smiled a bit wider as he bowed in humbleness. "Why, thank ya, Mayor Aizen."

He almost lost his balanced when he was glomped by a well-endowed werecat woman from behind.

"Oh, Rangiku!" he cried out in surprise at his childhood friend.

The ginger-haired werecat giggled as she gave Gin a Cheshire cat grin, he can see sharp animalistic canines.

"Wonderful as always, Gin," she purred. "You never seemed to have lost your groove this year."

"Um, thanks…I think." He had heard the word "groove" from the Human Realm, but never quite understood why most humans say that the word is "dead".

The ginger cat-like ears perked up when Rangiku remembered something. "Oh, yeah, Gin," she said. "You know that kid with the pretty orange hair and rags? What's his name? Berry-tan…Cherry…Strawberry…"

Pumpkin King's usual slit eyes opened to reveal light blue eyes, the look of shock was apparent on his face.

"Ichigo?" he spoke, sounding almost eager.

Aizen's dark eyebrow raised in amusement at Gin's usual reaction to that certain boy.

The werecat snapped her fingers as she grinned widely.

"That's him!" she responded cheerfully. "I saw him here just about a minute ago, so I think he left for home…"

Then next thing she knew, Gin politely pushed her off before running off to the path where Ichigo was headed. Rangiku blinked once and twice before realizing what had happened.

"Huh, what the…Where'd he go?!"

Aizen chuckles at the amusing scene before him. The same thing like every other year…he wonders how long Gin will keep chasing his pretty little ragdoll. With that thought in mind, he to his attendant, his smile never leaving his face.

"Hinamori, I think it's time to give out the prizes for tonight."

The dark-haired witch smiled as she nodded eagerly.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor!"

This is, indeed, an amusing year.

-

A/N: Again...sorry for the shortness.


	3. Chapter 3: Ragberry Doll

A sigh escaped from Ichigo's lips as he slowly walked down the cobblestone path to his home, his hands resting in the pockets of his jeans that were stitched together with rags.

_At least I got out of there in time…_He thought. _Wonder if Goat-Face already got started on those "babies"? _

Then the orange-haired ragdoll man heard running footsteps behind him. He narrowed his tea-brown eyes as he slowly pulled one of his hands out of his pocket, curling it into a fist. As soon as the footsteps sound like they're nearing, Ichigo whirled around with his fist raised, ready to punch out his stalker. Then all he saw was night air…occasional dead leaf or two…and nothing.

He looked around cautiously before shrugging to himself. Must be his imagination…

Then Ichigo retaliates that thought when he heard something landing behind him. And the only thing he could say about this situation is…

"Oh, fuck."

"Hi there, Ichigo, ya look mighty lovely this evening."

Ichigo groaned as he turned around to face the famous Pumpkin King, putting on his trademark scowl that would make the most frightening monster back off. But since this is Gin he's facing…he needs more than a frowning face. And a fist.

"Whatever it is, I'm not interested." He spoke in a deadpanned tone. "Besides…you said that last year…and the year before that…and the year before that…" Then Ichigo shook his head before correcting himself. "What I meant was…you ALWAYS say that. And I'm sick of it!"

Gin stared at the younger man before putting on a puppy-dog pout, looking hurt.

"Aw, come on, Ichi…I'm not really that bad." He told him before smiling his best charming smile and grabbing Ichigo's hand. "If ya give me a chance, that is."

Ichigo resisted the urge to punch Gin's head off (literally) and inhaled through his nose before exhaling through his mouth.

"I'm sorry…I've got to get home." He said, hoping that Gin would take the hint and leave him alone. Unfortunately, the tightening grip on his wrist told another story.

"Please, Ichigo-chan? I'll be nice to ya, if ya nice to me."

"I'm serious, let go." Ichigo tried to tug his arm away.

"Pretty please, Berry-tan?" Gin tugs him back.

"I said…LET GO!"

"Pretty please with sugar, then?"

Realizing that this is going nowhere, Ichigo had no other choice but to resort to _that._

"Alright…THAT'S IT!" He yelled. "THE ARM IS COMING OFF!"

And with that, Ichigo reached up to one of the stitches and undid the threading, causing him to separate from his own arm. The look on Gin's face was priceless when he saw the now severed arm in his hand, and Ichigo took advantage of his shock to roundhouse kick him before making a run for his house. He'd kick him while he's down to retrieve his arm back if he has to…but Gin is stronger than him. And much more experienced when it comes to fighting…

So, rather than play with fire…Ichigo decides to abandon his arm and face Goat-Face's questioning on how he lost it.

What has he done to deserve this kind of harassment?!

--

Gin was completely shell-shocked at the experience; he just sat on the ground, staring at Ichigo's severed arm. He regained his senses when the arm started to act on its own…and tried to strangle him.

"Whoa!" he cried out, as the silver-haired Pumpkin King tries to restrain the appendage. Is Ichigo's body really like that?!

"Nice move…Bone Daddy."

Gin recognized the lazy drawling tone; he looked over and saw a small group of street jazz band. The saxophone player has long dark unruly dark hair that is kept in a lose ponytail. He was dressed flamboyantly, almost as if calling for attention when money became rough to come by. The saxophone player lifts his hat up a bit, as if to take a good look at Gin.

"Looks like you've BEEN dumped; literally." He chuckled at his own joke, acting like Gin is just like any other person in Halloween Town. Not some king.

The pale-haired cellist looked over to his companion with a disapproving look.

"Shunsui, you don't have to be so rude." He chastised him.

The man known as Shunsui stared at his friend, looking almost offended. "What? I'm just trying to lighten the mood here, Jushiro."

The silver-haired man shook his head as his usually grinning face soon became depressed at Shunsui's words.

"No…he's right…" Gin spoke up in a glum tone, getting off of the ground and kept his hold on Ichigo's dismembered arm. He politely tossed a coin into the small can near the jazz players as Gin slowly head for the cemetery. "He rejected me last year. And the year before that….and the year before that…"

-

Gin absentmindedly entered the town cemetery, hardly taking note that Ichigo's arm finally calmed down in his hand. He passed by a tombstone that says "Shinso", before stopping for a bit to pat his leg. Then a silver fox spirit appeared out of its grave, its bright red nose in a shape of a tiny jack-o-lantern shining bright with happiness at the sight of its master. Shinso floated after his master faithfully as Gin headed beyond the graveyard.

The silver-haired man did not stop until he had reached his favorite spot in all of Halloween Town…the Spiral Hill.

He plopped down on his bottom as Gin stared at Ichigo's fallen appendage. Shinso floated over to his master, nuzzling up to his leg in comfort, whimpering at his master's sadness. He absentmindedly scratched the fox ghost's ear as he continued to stare at Ichigo's arm, before caressing it a bit.

His darling Ichigo…a love that would never belong to him.

--

-Gin's POV-

There are few who deny at what I do, but I'm pretty confident that I am the best. From what I know, my talents were spread far an' wide. Even with a slightest effort, I could make grown men shriek with my ghost-like charms. Just with a wave of a hand and well-placed moan, I've made the bravest sweep off their feet in fright.

But lately…year after year…it's like experiencin' de'ja vu…seein' the same thing over and over again. Scare the livin' crap outta a human…hear them screamin', an' what-not.

Even I, Ichimaru Gin, the Pumpkin King…could grow tired of the same old thing.

That is…until I met _him._

Kurosaki Ichigo…

The most beautiful denizen in Halloween town…

His long bright orange hair that seems to be beggin' me to run my fingers through it, his patchwork-like skin that looked smooth to touch, his pretty brown eyes…he's just too lovely for words. I had forgotten how long ago when I met him…but whenever I look back…

It almost feels like yesterday…

I was out on Spiral Hill one night, just about three days before Halloween. I was just mindin' my own business and playin' with Shinso. That is when I heard the most beautiful sound that I have ever heard in my entire life. And I could still remember that song…

_I sensed there's something in the wind…_

_That feels like Tragedy's at hand._

_And though I'd like to stand by him, _

_Can't shake this feeling that I have._

I know what they say about cats an' curiosity…but I just want to know who that beautiful singer is. I walked through the graveyard, with Shinso at my side, followin' that angelic voice. I kept walkin' until we came upon a patch of deadly nightshades, and that's when I saw the singer.

Her back was turned, so I didn't get a good look at her face, but she has the most gorgeous long orange hair. Her clothes were strangely ragged and stitched with some random fabrics, but they did nothin' to hide how slim her body was. I know this sounds like what a pervert would do, but I decided to keep low, to listen more of that song as she continues to gather the deadly nightshades.

_The worst is just around the bend…_

_And does he notice my feelings for him?_

_And will he see how much he means to me?_

_I think it's not to be…_

At that time…I was wonderin' about what she is singin' about. A man whom she has a crush on? An old boyfriend, maybe? I hope it was the latter one, can't have any competition.

_What will become of my dear friend?_

_Where will his actions lead us then?_

_Although I'd like to join the crowd_

_In their enthusiastic cloud…_

_Try as I may, it doesn't last._

_And will we ever end up together?_

_No, I think not…it's never too become._

_For I am not…the one._

I didn't know what it was at that time…

But for some reason, my heart was felt like it was reachin' out to her…and it's beatin' so fast, that I couldn't breathe very well. I was worried that this mysterious beauty will notice and see me. But unfortunately, she didn't hear the sound of my beatin' heart…oh no…what she heard was…

Snap.

…A snap of a twig that I stepped on.

That was the first mistake I made…when she turned around to see what was what, I realized my second mistake.

The pretty orange-haired lady was actually a _man._

He stared at me with his brown eyes that were wide with surprise, and his face…his face looked like it was stitched together; a stitch-scar was curving down from his hair line to the right side of his face. I even saw the same scar around his slim neck. But for some odd reason, they don't seem to deform him at all. Instead…they enhance more of his beauty. I know it's sounded morbid an' all…but…

"Who the shit are you?"

I admit that not only I was shocked by the tone, but the way he glared at me almost looked like he wanted to kill me and bury my body somewhere where people won't find. But due to the fact that he doesn't know who I am, he must be new. So, just bein' me, I placed on the same charmin' smile that made the ladies melt.

"I'm Ichimaru Gin, the King of the Pumpkin Patch." I took an elegant bow before him. "And what is yur name?"

"None of your fucking business."

I was in shock by the attitude of this here beauty. Apparently, he's quite feisty…I kinda like it.

"Now, now, let's not be like that," I chastised him. "I just want us to be friends."

I heard the boy let out a "tch" as he stood up from kneelin'. "I don't." I heard him reply before walkin' passes me, as if I'm nothin' but air. He had a jar in his hands that said "deadly nightshade", could be contanin' those nightshades he gathered. I grabbed his arm, but not harshly, causing 'im to stop and look at me. Well…more like glarin' could be an appropriate term. But dang…if his eyes weren't so pretty and invitin'…

"Come on, it's like I'm gonna bite ya." I reassured him in a slight teasin' tone. "Give me a chance…now, let's start by yur name, and I'll think about lettin' ya go."

"My parents told me not to talk to strangers."

I felt a grin formin' on my face.

"Well, yur talkin' ta me. And we're not strangers."

His brown eyes narrowed as he yanked his arm outta my hand.

"Alright…let's go over this…" he holds up one finger. "One, you haven't gotten my name yet, so we're _still_ strangers," then two fingers were held up. "Two, even if I would love to introduce myself, it wouldn't be the likes of you…" Then a third finger was held up. "And three…go fuck yourself."

I just stared at him like it was forever before replyin' to that last comment.

"Yur breakin' my heart, ya know?"

And just before he could say somethin' witty, we both heard Shinso whimperin' as he pawed the tangerine cutie's leg. He just stared at Shinso, his face was so blank that I couldn't read 'im very clearly. Then next thing I knew…a smile grew on his pretty face as he knelt down to scratch Shinso's ear. Lucky fox…

"Ya know…you have a pretty smile."

Once again, I didn't expect a glare from the pretty thing when he stood back up.

"Shut up." He snarled before heading for the cemetery gate.

"Hey, wait…" I called out, reaching for his shoulder this time.

I didn't know if my grabbin' is harsh or not, but the way he looked, he doesn't seem to be happy. Then next thing I knew…I felt a pain in the spot where the sun never shone, and I was on the ground in a fetal position in agony. Managin' to look up, I saw the enraged face of the beauty glarin' down at me. And I have to admit it…he's kinda pretty when he's angry too.

"That's what you get, you stupid ass-clown!" then with that, he stormed out of the cemetery. And the only livin' (for a better lack of word) souls left are just me and Shinso. Took me a while to get some feelin' back…

This might sound masochistic or somethin', I couldn't help but fall in love with that mysterious boy. And I would do ANYTHING to be with him. Even if I have to get punched in a face in the process. The next day, I found out that he's actually the newest creation of Dr. Kurosaki, the next generation of the Ragdoll Project since his first creation (and wife, from what I heard), Masaki. That and he had turned more than a just few heads in Halloween Town…that includes the mayor's.

Needless to say, I didn't really like to compete…but since I've found him first, I have to do whatever it takes to make 'im swoon into my arms. But I didn't really have to defend him, since I've found out that he could defend himself pretty well against that mangy werecat (not Rangiku, mind ya) Grimmjow. I guess what I've seen back in the graveyard ain't a bluff…

Not only that…I also found out that his name was Ichigo.

Ichigo…a beautiful name for a rag doll like him.

Since that night from the graveyard…I continue to pursue Ichigo, days became weeks. Weeks became months. And soon, months became years.

And yet, every single time…he still didn't accept my love.

I let out a sigh sorrowfully as I felt my mind returnin' me to the present time, where I was sittin' on the ole Spiral Hill with my faithful fox, Shinso, at my side…and Ichigo's arm in my hands. My mind's half there when I gently thumbed the back of Ichigo's hand, delighting at the smoothness of his patchwork skin. Without even thinkin', I brought up his appendage close to my face, my lips nearin' his knuckles.

"Ichigo…" I softly spoke…before placin' a soft kiss upon his hand.

-End of Gin's POV-

Meanwhile…

As Ichigo was about to reach his house/Goat-Face's laboratory of pure doom and evil (in his mind), he felt an odd sensation from the stump of his right arm. It wasn't a slimy disgusting feeling…but for some strange reason, it felt tingly and…nice. And it caused his cheeks to heat up. Turning to his stumpy arm, Ichigo grips at the remainder of his appendage, while making sure that he wouldn't lose any dead-leaf stuffing.

_That's too weird…_

Shaking his head, he walked up to the steps of his home and entered in.

-

Please review.

Hope you guys like the long chapter for a change! Oh, and sorry for the mishap earlier...long day. Anyways, in case I didn't finish this in time...Happy early Halloween!

Featured song: Sally's Song – The Nightmare before Christmas


	4. Chapter 4: New Creations

-Last chapter-

_That's too weird…_

-

**WARNING!!! This chapter may contain some mature themes, adult discretion is advised. No kids (the physical AND the mental) are allowed at this point**

-

"Gah! Where is my glorious son?! Didn't he know that this is the important day of the Kurosaki family?!?"

His companion looked over to the ranting dark-haired scientist/family patriarch as he flipped his fan open to cool himself, despite the eternal autumn weather. He wore a green and white bucket hat upon his messy blond head, and his outfit is quite odd for the laboratory environment, which it consists of a loose green t-shirt and a pair of dark green pants along with a pair of geta-wooden sandals. He listened to his friend's rant before speaking up to him.

"Relax, my dear friend," he cheerfully reassured him. "Remember, today's Halloween…he must be at the festivities. You know how teenagers like him are."

Isshin looked over to him with a dramatic upset look, almost to the point of being fanatic.

"BUT ICHIGO'S STILL A BABY!" he wailed. "WHAT IF SOMEONE WILL SNATCH HIM UP AND DEFLOWER HIM?!?!"

"Dear…" a soft feminine voice spoke.

Both men turned to the source of the voice and saw a demure light-brunette woman standing by the lab doorway. Her appearance is human but her skin was like Ichigo's, patchwork of flesh and rags. Her dress was sewn with random fabric but beautiful in its own strange way. The woman smiled lovingly to her creator and husband before speaking.

"I'm sure Ichigo will be alright," her tone was soothing and reassuring. "So, it's ok to start the project. He'll be here soon enough to meet the new additions to the family." As she said so, her attention turned over to twin linen wrapped bodies on the operating tables, their tiny heads strapped by head-gears that were connected to some machine.

As if someone had turn on a switch, Isshin's mood changed from depressed to spazzed out cheerfulness as he bounced over to his "wife" and embraced her.

"I agree with you, my beloved Masaki!" he crowed. "What better way than to surprise our fabulous idiot son with his new sisters alive to have him as the last but best thing to see?"

Then the crazy scientist turned to his friend with an enthusiastic grin.

"KISUKE! Pull…THE SWITCH!"

The man known as Kisuke turned to his tall muscular assistant who stood by patiently by "the switch", and smiled widely.

"You heard the man, Tessai-san!" he said cheerfully, waving the fan casually at him.

Tessai nodded dutifully before gripping the switch handle.

"Right, Master!" and then with his monster strength, he pulled down the switch and activated the machine.

The machine roared into life, as its mechanisms charged it with the power needed to give life to the latest projects of Dr. Isshin Kurosaki. Electricity sparked occasionally before traveling down to the strapped helmets and shocked the small bodies, causing them to twitch violently. Isshin watched with morbid excitement, chuckling low at first before his laughter became louder as he couldn't contain it any further.

"They're alive…" he spoke. "They're alive….THEY ARE ALI..."

WHAM!

"OW!"

Isshin held his forehead in pain as the head gear made a clanking sound when it hits the ground before bouncing twice and rolled away to somewhere.

"PIPE DOWN, YA OLD GEEZER! WE JUST WOKE UP!" One of the wrapped bodies barked, its voice sounded feminine but yet boyish.

She reached up and forcibly ripped off her head wrappings, revealing a face of a young girl, no older than 10, with dark croppy hair. She shot her creator a glare and growled audibly as he tries to will away the pain. The body next to her let out a yawn as she removes the helmet from her head. She undid the wrappings neatly before to reveal a light-brunette girl who looks almost similar to her raven-haired twin, save for the difference in hair color. Another thing that they have in common is that they sport stitch-scars on their faces, such as Masaki.

"Good morning!" she chirped.

The rag doll woman's heart instantly melted at the sweetness of the child before approaching them, gaining the attention of the twins.

The girls stared up at her curiously, before one of them popped the question.

"Mama?" the dark-haired twin spoke.

At that moment, Masaki smiled as she held out her arms before her new daughters.

"Yes, I'm your mother!" she proclaimed happily, letting out a pleasant laughter as the girls threw themselves on her. Experiencing this reminds her of the time when Ichigo first woke up…

Kisuke cooed at the sight before him, while fanning himself.

"Aw, isn't this sweet, Tessai-san?" he asked his assistant, turning his attention to him.

He wasn't surprised when he saw tears streaming down the muscular man's face, his attempts on holding back were proven futile as he pulled out a handkerchief to dab eyes underneath his glasses. "Y-yes…yes it is, Master!" he sobbed. The blond man smiled half-heartedly before turning back to the heart-warming moment between the mother and daughters. Won't Ichigo-kun be surprised when he gets home?

Isshin quickly recovers before jumping up to his feet, as if nothing had happened to him.

"HEY, GIRLS? HOW ABOUT A HUG FROM YOUR NEW DAD…"

WHAM! Clank…clank…

"…dy…" Thud.

"IN YOUR DREAMS, GOAT-FACED FREAK!" the dark-haired girl yelled.

"Nee-san!" the light-brunette girl scolded.

The dark-haired girl looked at her twin as if she did nothing wrong. "What? He was getting on my nerves."

Masaki laughed softly as the girls returned their attention back to her.

"Mama, since you also created us, what are you gonna name us?" the light-brunette twin asked sweetly.

Before the rag doll woman can reply, Isshin once again miraculously recovers and jumps up to this opportunity.

"How about Mary and Ann?" he suggested before managing to dodge another object thrown by one of his new daughters/creations.

"Anything but those lame names!"

Kisuke couldn't help but chuckle softly at the spunky nature of the small "child". She definitely inherited her big brother's charm. The light-brunette sighed before looking up to her mother curiously.

"Mama…what kind of names are you gonna name us?" she asked.

Masaki thought for a moment as the girls waited in anticipation. It didn't take long for their mother to come up more suitable names than their father. Or creator…whatever they had to call him.

"Karin…" she pointed at the dark-haired twin. "And Yuzu." She said, pointing at the brown haired twin.

"Karin and Yuzu…I think those are nice names for you girls." She say to them.

"Karin…" the newly named girl spoke softly, trying out her name before beaming with happiness. "I like it! It has a cool ring to it."

"I'll treasure this name as always!" Yuzu gushed with happiness.

"Ah! But wait till you see your older brother!" Isshin added, bracing himself to dodge another possible lethal object from Karin. He doesn't want to have further damages to his brain…

Both girls looked over to their father/creator with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

"Older…"

"…Brother?"

Isshin checked his wristwatch and look at the time. "He should be home right about…"

"I'm home!"

"Now! Damn I'm good!" the middle-aged man gloated.

The said person whom Isshin had mentioned entered through the lab entrance. They both saw an older boy, around his early teens, with shockingly long orange hair. Both his outfit and appearance were like theirs and their mother. But strangely, he only had a stump of where his right arm used to be. They can see the dead leaves sticking out of the stump.

"Nii-chan…" Karin heard her sister spoke, averting her attention away from the teen to her.

Yuzu released her grip from her mother and swung her legs over the side of the operating table. She slowly feet her tiny feet down on the concrete floor, flinching a bit from the coldness while bracing the table for balance. Yuzu made an experimental step as Masaki kept a watchful eye, making sure to that she doesn't fall on her face. Just when the rag doll child was about to get used to her legs, they suddenly gave out underneath her as she let out a cry.

Ichigo see this and quickly sprinted towards his new sister, catching her just in time before meeting face to face with the concrete. The young girl recovers from the minor shock and then looked up to him with wide tea-colored eyes, studying curiously at his face. Seeing how cute she looked, Ichigo couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked, his tone was gentle, not like the rough and rude tone that he usually used. (Well, only on a day-to-day basis to certain people he hates).

The small girl nodded before smiling meekly at him.

"Uh-huh, thank you…Nii-chan." The last part was shy and almost quiet, adding on to her charm.

"So, did Mom already named you?" Ichigo asked as he helped her up, despite his lack of another limb. He prayed to whoever created this world, his crazy father wouldn't question him while at the same time making a usual surprise attack.

The young girl nodded vigorously before replying, "Yup, I'm Yuzu! And what's your name?"

"I'm Ichigo, it means Number One Guardian."

As the two new siblings begin to bond, Masaki watched with complete joy at the fact of her new daughter taken a liking to her Ichigo very quickly. Karin, on the other hand, is a bit suspicious. Sure, he seems nice and all…but she couldn't place her finger on what. It could be his hair (though it's kinda cool-looking)…than there's his missing arm…

"IIIIIIII-CHIIII-GOOOOOOOOO!"

_Oh, crap…_

Just before Karin knew it, Isshin ran towards the orange-haired guy before making a flying kick towards him…and Yuzu.

"H-hey, geezer, you're also gonna…" she began to call out.

But the next thing she saw had rendered her speechless. The teen dodged his kick and grabbed his leg before using all his strength to throw him across the room. Karin heard the wall crack as she saw her creator plastered on the wall in a comical way. Nevertheless…this guy is amazing. Maybe it's not bad to have him as a big brother.

"DAD, YOU CRAZY DOUCHE-BAG!" Ichigo yelled at the possibly unconscious man. "What the Hell are you doing? What happens if you also hit Yuzu, huh?!"

"Vigor as always…"

Hearing the familiar shady voice, Ichigo looked over his shoulder and saw the blond with his damned smile and fan. And that includes his monster of an assistant, Tessai.

"Oh, it's you, Mr. Hat-n-Clogs…what brings you here?" he questioned.

He wasn't surprised when Tessai reacted to that nickname he made for Kisuke. Ichigo have no idea why he acted like it's an insult…he wore those weird hat and clogs! Are all humans that strange?

"How dare you address Master this way!" he said in an accusing tone. "Show some respect for your father's friend!"

Kisuke, on the other hand, was just fanning away casually.

"No need to fret, Tessai-san," he reassured him. "I don't really mind it one bit. After all…I'm their God-daddy!"

"Like Hell you are!" Ichigo and Karin both snapped.

"Ichigo…" Masaki spoke up. "What happened to your arm?"

Turning away from his "godfather" (for a better lack of word), Ichigo looked to his "mother" as he quickly thought up possible excuses to explain his lack of limb.

"Well, Mom…I…" the last thing he wanted to do to his mother, is to lie. But thankfully, something above or below of this plane of existence must have taken a liking to him and decided to show some mercy…or at least…

"I WAS ABOUT TO ASK HIM THAT MYSELF, MY BELOVED WIFE!"

That's what he thought.

Using the wall, Isshin suddenly revives and sprang himself towards Ichigo like a rocket with his fist bearing, making himself look more ridiculous. But Ichigo was faster, so he reacted quickly when he grabbed his arm and used it as a leverage to flip him on his back hard. He delivered an axe kick on his head for a good measure, causing the top half to pop open to reveal his brain.

Karin and Yuzu let out cries of disgust whilst the other adults looked on as if it's like any other every-day event.

"Some fox ambushed me and stole it, let's leave it at that!" then with a huff, he stormed out of the lab and head for his room.

"Does this always happen?" Yuzu asked innocently to her mother.

Masaki gave the light-brunette child a reassuring smile as she strokes her hair. "Don't worry, sweetie, this kind of thing is normal. Have patience to get used to it."

"And speaking of patience…I gotta get back to the shop," Kisuke spoke up as he takes a glance at his watch. "Jinta always slacks off from his chores and makes Ururu do his share." He tips his hat towards Isshin who groans in pain as he soothed his naked brain. "Thank you for the collaboration, Isshin," then he turns to Masaki. "Mrs. Kurosaki...we'll be taking our leave now."

The light-brown haired woman bows politely before him as he and his assistant showed themselves to the door. When she hears the door closed, Masaki turned to the spot where Ichigo stood before. Her normally smiling face crest-fallen into worry; her motherly instincts quickly kicked in when she saw how defensive her son is acting more than usual.

Did something happen on his way home?

_Ichigo…_

"Mama?"

Breaking out of her train of thoughts, Masaki looked down and saw Karin staring up at her worriedly.

"Are you ok?" she asked, "You looked sad."

Putting on her usual smile, she pats Karin's hair in reassurance. She didn't mean for her girls to worry about her.

"Oh, it's nothing…" she replied. "Now, come along, you two. We'll have to find something for you both to wear."

"Mm…m-my…brain…" they heard Isshin groaned in pain as they exit out of the lab.

The twins might like this family…

--

"Geez! Can that guy get any crazier?" Ichigo groaned as he threw himself onto his bed, hearing the springs underneath the mattress groaned in protest.

"I know his reputation as a mad scientist and all…but this is un-fucking-believable!"

Finishing his rant, he stared up at the ceiling as the movie poster of Bad Shield United's characters stared back down at him. He was one told that his father, in his younger days, visited the Human Realm for some research of some kind. But instead, he found some of the "most interesting" things that he had ever seen. Like, watching that ridiculous show called…Don…what's-his-name with the silly hat and that stupid catch-phrase with the silly pose, or that place where people see those moving pictures. (Seen this movie called Bad Shield United and went as far as stealing the poster ad).

He even bought some packaged food from some shop called...11/7 something.

But that's also the place where he had met his mother…

He couldn't recall what happened, but his father mentioned that someone murdered her one rainy night, right when his father was about to return to Halloween Town. Rather than leaving her corpse out on the open for crows and maggots to make a feast out of, he took her body from the Human Realm and started the Rag Doll Project. His mother became his first creation and the first "former human" to be a citizen of their world.

Ichigo didn't learn what had happened to the man who killed her, but when he asked his father one time, all he did was stared him straight in the eye and said…

"That…" Then along came a goofy smile. "IS A SECRET~!"

It irked Ichigo enough to have his father's face to get more in touch with his fist, and left to do something afterwards, forgetting about his mother's killer.

There are times when he questioned his existence and the exact meaning for him to be here. Besides being unexpectedly groped of course…

He didn't know when, but Ichigo felt restless lately. Perhaps it's the humdrum that is lingering in the town that not even ONE person could notice, the same old thing that they seem to be doing for who-knows-how-many years. He wanted something more…exciting…something that could spice this town up a bit. Something…

"…A bit more meaningful." He muttered to himself as he absentmindedly reached up to his stump of an arm.

Scowling at nothing in particular, he let out a "tch" before moving on his side.

"Stupid bone-headed ass-clown…"

-

"Ah…AH-CHOO!"

Gin sniffed as made his way down from the Spiral Hill, while still holding Ichigo's lost arm.

"Funny…it felt like someone's talkin' about me…" he said to himself.

He looked down at Ichigo's arm, still calm and relaxed…almost unmoving, as if it's in a trance of some kind. Gin leaned against a gravestone of some sorry John Doe, staring at the stitch-scared arm of his beloved ragdoll. His sweet darling Ichigo…

Just thinking about him made his pants uncomfortably tight, which it always seem to do to Gin whenever he thought about…certain things he wanted to do with his beloved. Seeing that he is all alone in the graveyard (and Shinso was off somewhere chasing some bats or something), all he needed to do in this kind of situation is to relieve himself. And Ichigo's arm will also help him to do it.

Gin hissed in pleasure as he rubbed his clothed erection over the palm of Ichigo's hand, hardly containing the shiver of excitement and glee that he is feeling. If he couldn't have the lovely doll, then he could at least relieve this painful tension that he felt with the arm that Ichigo was generous enough to remove and leave for him.

He bit his lower lip and undid his pants, allowing his hardened erection to spring free. He felt the cool night air caressing his heated flesh, sending shivers up and down his spine. If only it were Ichigo's warm breath hovering over him instead. He gently wrapped Ichigo's slim fingers around his cock and pumped it slowly, wishing that it was truly Ichigo that was doing it. He let out a strangled cry as the hand begins to tighten around him before moving on it's on.

The pumping became faster and faster, as his breathing became harsher. He let his head drop back on the stone surface before moving his hips into action. Oh, how he had counted the nights when he dreamt about being inside of his love…how much he desired to be right inside him now, but this was good. More like fantastic.

He let out another shuddered breath and came into Ichigo's hand.

"Ichigo…"

-

In his bedroom, Ichigo woke up from a dream he couldn't remember. He reached over and grasped the stump of his arm, wondering why for some odd reason that he felt like lifting his missing hand to his mouth and licking it clean.

"That's it…no more spicy food before bed." He muttered to himself before going back to sleep.

_But what the Hell WAS that dream?_

-

Please review.


	5. Chapter 5: Where is Gin?

Beta-ed by my good friend, Kat, who is always there for me.

-

Last chapter…

_But what the Hell WAS that dream?_

-

After jacking himself off, Gin regained his composure and fixed himself up, straightening out his suit and smoothing back his silver hair. He was lucky that he always carried a handkerchief with him; Ichigo would be furious and bombard him with questions about why his hand was covered with some "white stuff". That and Gin would receive another roundhouse kick.

He must be a masochist…

Gin began to wipe the semen off from Ichigo's hand, which became calm again after that fiasco he had earlier. He was lucky that the detached appendage wasn't trying to strangle him this time; it's almost as if this limb was telepathically connected to its owner. He stopped wiping the hand, thinking back at what he had thought.

_Then again…anything is possible in this world. _Gin thought to himself before continuing to clean the hand until it's free of his seed.

Trying not to think about more tantalizing fantasies about his love, he stood up and pocketed his cum-stained handkerchief as he looked around for Shinso.

"Shinso? Here, boy!" he called out, before whistling out.

He heard a familiar yip from his friend, and sure enough Shinso floated out from behind a group of tombstones. The ghost fox floated over to his master's side, nuzzling his head against Gin's leg. The silver-haired Pumpkin King gave him a small smile before scratching his ear.

"Come on, Shinso…let's go for a walk." He said to his pet fox.

Shinso let out an agreeing yip before following his master through the pumpkin patch and into the dead woods.

-

The next morning came when the skeletal rooster crowed, and Ichigo stood in front of the gates of the destination that he most dreaded -Gin's house.

He glared up at the twisted building, scowling as usual. He still couldn't believe that he got up early and snuck out of his house for this. But…he had to do it. This is all for the-

"Ah, gonna confess your true feelings to your boyfriend now?"

Ichigo let out a growl before whipping his head to the speaker.

"SCREW OFF! I'M JUST HERE TO GET MY ARM BACK!"

He was about to enter through the gates, but he stopped midway to look back at the saxophone player.

"AND HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"

Shunsui watched with amusement as the rag doll boy stormed through the gates with the determination of a grizzly bear. Jurshiro, leaning against his cello, stared at his friend with concern before speaking.

"Do you think we should tell him?" he asked.

The dark-haired man shook his head as he place his saxophone back in its case.

"Nah, I think it's better not to…" then he looked up to his pale-haired friend with a familiar smile. "Besides, wouldn't it be more fun this way?"

"Shunsui…"

--

Grumbling to himself, Ichigo stormed up one the stairs before reaching up to the spider door-bell rope and gave it a good yank. It let out a woman's shriek as Ichigo tapped his foot impatiently for any answer. Besides, seeing Gin's grinning face…

A few minutes passed, and the silver-haired man wasn't at the door.

He pulled the door-bell rope and heard the annoying shriek. Sighing, he looked over and saw the street jazz-players staring at him. The saxophone player had the gall to tip his hat and gave him a smile - to which Ichigo responded with the finger. About another few minutes have passed, and Ichigo finally confirmed that Gin must be in bed, physically awake but still mentally asleep. So, he had to go for plan B…

"Oi, Gin! I'm here to get my arm back!" he called.

No answer.

"You better not be doing something perverted to it!"

Still no answer…now comes plan C.

"…GET YOUR ASS OUT OF HERE, YOU LAZY SACK OF BONES! A COP IS HERE, AND HE HAS A WARRANT!"

"Good morning, Ichigo-kun."

Hearing that familiar voice behind him sent the hairs on his neck on a 90 degree angle. He knew that voice from _anywhere_…

"Yes, Satan?" Then Ichigo turned around and saw the familiar dark-haired man with the all-too familiar smile that seems to send shivers down the spine of any monster in town. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mayor Aizen…you sounded like someone else just now."

He tried not to shudder when he saw that damned smile on the mayor's face grew wider as amusement danced in his darker-brown eyes. He always hated this man; from the moment he was first introduced to the town. Aizen may look charming and kind, but since day one, Ichigo saw instantly what kind of man he is -just another lust-filled bastard who wanted to be in his pants. If there was ever a competition on who is the vilest evilest sex-crazed maniac in the world…Aizen Sousuke would win hands down. And he always hated that looming gleam in his eyes whenever he crossed paths with him…

"That's fine…" then he looked up at the observing tower. "It seems that we have a problem here."

Ichigo raised an orange eyebrow in confusion.

"We?" he questioned.

"Momo and I came up with plans for next Halloween, and I was planning to go over them with Gin," he explained. "I am the _only _elected official, after all."

"Oh…right." Ichigo spoke, before stealing a glance at the mayor's car that was parked in front of Gin's house gates.

It oddly looked like a hearse that serviced the dead, quite fitting for someone like the mayor. But for some odd reason, there's something off about it. If Aizen was honest about the plans, weren't they supposed to be with him? And where is that assistant of his, peach girl? He was never good at remembering names…and faces.

"You know…" Ichigo almost jumped when he noticed that Aizen was a bit too close to him for comfort. "You're always welcomed at my office. I have some Earl Grey tea that is popular in the Human Realm, and it's to die for." When he said those words, he reached his hand up and gently tucked a long lock of orange hair behind Ichigo's ear. The teen tried to suppress a shudder when he felt the former's finger caressing his cheek.

"I couldn't help but notice that you're missing an arm, did something happen?" Aizen's tone was sympathetically warm, but to Ichigo…it felt like the wind's chill. And he could almost feel the sensation of a snake coiling around his neck.

"I…I lost it last night…" he lied through his teeth. "I'm just here to see if Gin might have seen it."

_Please buy it…please buy it…_

"I see…that is unfortunate," Ichigo clenched his teeth, repressing the urge to flinch when he felt Aizen's hand trailing down the side of his neck to his right shoulder. "To be born with limbs that can detach so easily. It must be hard for you to go through it day by day."

"It's nothing, really. I'm used to this kind of thing." _Come on, Ichigo, come up with something! Change the damn subject, get rid of this guy, and get your arm back!_

"Where…where is your assistant?" He questioned, trying to keep composure. He did NOT want this guy get the pleasure of seeing him scared. No thank you…

"That…witch peach chick, shouldn't be with you like usual?" Ichigo really need to break this habit.

Aizen blinked before realizing whom the boy was talking about.

"Oh, you mean Hinamori-kun? Don't worry about her…I allowed her to sleep in, since she's already done so much for me…" Then he begins to lean in closer to him. "But, I'm really looking forward on getting more acquainted to you…"

There are certain things in life that Ichigo learned about, and lesser of two evils is one of them. He had heard something about how, when coming across two equally bad choices, it was always safer to choose the one that wasn't as bad as the other; to avoid the greater threat. Ands since this situation was about risk being a fuck buddy of the dream world's most evil man or risk his virginity and sanity to his bone-headed stalker, he'd have to say that this particular lesson was of great importance. Thinking this over…he decided his choice.

Just when Aizen was about to lean in upon Ichigo's lips, the teen clenched his remaining arm and did the unthinkable…

He punched the Mayor of Halloween Town in the face.

Watching the older man falling down the steps to the gates (and survived, much to his disappointment), Ichigo faced the front door and gave it a few good hard kicks.

"GIN! GIVE ME MY ARM BACK NOW, AND I'LL PROMISE THAT YOU'LL HAVE KIDS IN THE FUTURE!"

"Gin's not home."

Ichigo whipped his head to the voice's owner.

"Say what?!" he exclaimed.

The saxophone player leaned against the iron gates, whilst his white-haired buddy stared at the unconscious Mayor with sympathy at his pain. Like he cared about that, his fault for getting into Ichigo's personal space, his pain is his ultimate gain. And…did he just see a girl inside that guy's cello?!

"I said…Gin's not home." The jazz man drawled lazily.

"Not…home…?" Ichigo repeated, hardly believing his ears or the jazz man. "Then where is he?!"

"He hasn't been home all night." The girl inside the cello spoke up, while adjusting her glasses.

Ichigo stared at the trio in shock, completely at loss on what to say; it was so silent around the Ichimaru property that anyone can hear an autumn leaf drop to the ground. That is until one of the finally breaks it.

"THAN WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!"

"It's more fun to see the show first thing in the morning before band practice."

The orange-haired rag doll glared at the jazz man before storming down the steps, and cautiously stepping over the Mayor, before reaching the gates. The street band hastily got out of the way before being hit by the gates that were swung open by the infuriated teen as watching him stomp down the street, cursing underneath his breath as a murderous aura that is radiated his very being dared anyone to try to speak one word to him without getting killed. The band watched in silence until the boy was out of view, before one of them finally spoke up.

"Well…that is an eventful morning." Shunsui chuckled.

-

The sun shone high in the sky, grinning down upon the two traveling souls in the dead wood. Shinso floated about near his master, never tired after a long night. Gin, on the other hand, was another story. Still holding Ichigo's arm in hand, he walked down the path in his sleep. Dreaming about a certain strawberry rag doll, coaxing him out from bed…cooking delicious breakfast in a decent apron…giving him a good-luck-at-work kiss…and having some nice countless rounds in the bed.

"Mmmm…oh, Gin…" he could almost hear Ichigo's beautiful voice moan in his ear as his hands roam each part of the rag-doll's skin. It felt almost as smooth and soft as the skin he felt on Ichigo's detached arm, albeit feeling an occasional scar or two. He could almost feel himself ravishing the ragberry's throat while slowly moving his hands lower and lower, until…

Bark! Bark! Bark!

The sound of Shinso's yipping barks aroused Gin from his pleasant dream, causing him to yawn and stretch out tiredly. It was a wonder that ANYONE could still be walking throughout the whole night without tripping somewhere.

"Where are we?" he asked, while adjusting his eyes to the blinding rays of the sun.

When his eyes became used to the brightness, they began to focus and set upon something peculiar…and different. Feeling the familiar sense of curiosity, Gin head over to the location with Shinso following behind, being a loyal fox he is. Finally reaching to the destination, Gin was filled with amazement when he came upon a certain area in the middle of the dead woods.

"What is this?" he asked, almost to himself than Shinso.

Right before them where six doors carved in wood, and came in all different shapes and sizes; a pink heart, a colorful egg, a strange fat bird with a huge tail, an odd green plant, and a blue and red rag with white stars and stripes. Gin stared at each door, taking in every detail. How long has these have been here? He did not remember anything about their existence; in fact…he didn't recall _anyone _knowing about the whereabouts of this place.

As he looked at each door, one particular door caught his eye.

This door resembles a tree adorned with strange decorations and a star.

Enthralled by the sight, Gin barely felt himself walking towards it, filled with wild excitement and a slight bit of worry. He could have sworn that he felt something thumping in his chest as he near the door, before reaching out for the red knob. He twisted the knob, opened it, and peered inside to find…

…Nothing?

He looked further down into the darkness, and found a deep abyss. Gin turned to Shinso who was looking up at him questioningly as if asking "what is it?" To that, the silver-haired man shrugged, confused himself.

Then, he felt a slight chill on his back as a whistling whisper was heard. What followed next was…white little flakes? Suddenly Gin felt the wind becoming stronger and he tried to move away from the door, but the wind pulled him into it with a white windy flurry, shutting the door behind him. Shinso was left behind in this strange place, barking anxiously after the door. He whimpers in worry when he receives no form of response.

What will become of his master?

-

Please review

-

References:

1. "Yes, Satan?" – I just thought this Ace Ventura line somehow fit's Ichigo whenever he ran into Aizen.


	6. Chapter 6: What's this! Gin's in where?

"W-whoa….WHOOAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Gin cried out as he fell through the whirlwind of white. He had no idea how deep this abyss would go, but he could have sworn that he is seeing his "life" flash before his eyes. Down, down he goes, his only concern was how to give Ichigo's arm back…and how he could at least find a way to win his heart. Feeling a shred of hope quickly fading away, Gin closed his eyes and accepted his fate, thinking this might be his punishment for bothering Ichigo (along with others things like impure thoughts and jacking off with Ichigo's arm). But suddenly, Gin could have sworn that he saw a blinding white light before landing on something soft…and cold.

Gin slowly opened his eyes, but he wasn't prepared for the sight that he was about to see.

Before him was a small town like his own, but different in so many ways; Instead of twisted darkness and fear, this town is filled with colorful lights…and cheerful songs? Gin looked on further before feeling his hand suddenly sink into the ground. A cold chill shot through his skin to his bones, and as he brought it up, he pulled up a pile of white cold…stuff.

He had never seen this kind of thing before, Gin couldn't help but give it an experimental taste. He could feel the coldness on his tongue and was surprised that it instantly melted away inside his mouth. The pumpkin king turned back to the town he was viewing, seeing strange vehicles traveling down some tracks while making loud hooting noises. Driving it was a small creature with the strangest ears that he had ever seen. There are even more skating over a frozen pond around the tree that looked just like the door he went through. He even saw black and white birds near them.

Gin leaned forward to get a better look at the town and its inhabitants, but he started to lose his balance. Clutching onto Ichigo's arm, he slid down the hill at a fast pace before bracing himself as he crashed into a huge pile of the cold white stuff.

Pulling himself out of the white mess, he coughed a bit as he brushed himself off.

"What is this place?" he asked himself as he take a good look around of the town he was now in.

This place had color everywhere, from top to bottom. There are also small white things falling from the air. Impossible, that is one word that Gin first thought of. Could this be a dream? A result of having a mixture of both fantasizing Ichigo as his and sleep-walking?!

Then he felt something shivering in his hand. Looking down, he saw that Ichigo's arm was shivering from the cold air. Feeling concern on what might happen to the main body; he rubs the whole limb, hoping it could provide some warmth to it. And probably Ichigo too….

Then he heard someone coming. Panicking, he looked around for a place to hide or something to blend in. Gin found a white statue made out of the strange cold material. It wore a hat and seemed to have a long orange nose. Without even a second thought, he removed the hat and nose, before placing the hat upon his head. He quickly ducks into the icy mess, hopefully whoever came by never notice him. Or the stitched limb that he is carrying.

Gin tried to stand perfectly still as a small group of strange creatures walked pass him, singing songs?!

_Somethin's wrong here…_ he thought to himself as he watched them pass by. Gin could hear cheerful laughter from every street, not screams of terror and gasps of fright back at Halloween town.

"I must have hit my head too hard." He said to himself before making a run out of the icy prison, hoping not to be seen.

The further he explored the town he's in, the more he learned the difference between Halloween town and this. He saw small children throwing small white things instead of dismembered heads. He also noticed that there were no corpses walking about and the residents were busy building strange objects and contraptions. The sound of music and scent of fresh pastries were in the air. Gin also saw lights on strings, and small trees being covered in glass balls! Instead of feeling the spine-chilling sensation of fear, the silver-haired king somehow felt…good.

The monsters…the nightmares…none of them exist in this town…or in this world! In all of his years of fright, he had never experienced anything like this! Maybe…maybe this could be it. This could be the one thing that might impress Ichigo…and he'll have to be with him! It's fool proof!

Now all that is left is finding out where the Hell…

BAM!

…He is.

The last thing he noticed that he was on the ground, and his head felt like it's going to fall off. Gin gingerly sat up from the cold white icy mess and looked up at what looked like a sign. It was red and white from what he can see, and surrounded by bright small lights says…

"C-Christmas town?" he spoke with wonder. "Hmm…"

Then suddenly, he heard something went off a loud toot, causing Gin look over the source. There, he saw a door opened from what looked like a factory and a large shadow letting out a loud but clear "Ho-ho-ho!"

Gin stared in calculating suspicion, knowing that he need to bring back more than just a few things to show the townspeople back home. Then he looked down at the separated limb, which was shivering in the cold air.

"But first…"

-

Meanwhile…

Ichigo leaned against the gargoyle fountain, clutching the right stump as if in pain.

"D-damn it…" he cursed underneath his breath.

He didn't want to believe it…but ever since he reluctantly left his arm to that bone-headed pervert, Ichigo felt odd sensations from his missing limb. First it was that tingly warm feeling, than it was some dream he had, and now he felt like his whole arm was in a meat locker at a -60 degree temperature. And to top it all off…Gin's not here, so he can't use his remaining arm to punch his face in.

"God, this sucks ass!"

"What does?"

Ichigo looked up at the owner of the voice and saw the familiar buxom were-cat lady that always hung around Gin. What was her name again?

"Um…Rangiku, is it?" He asked.

The ginger-haired cat-woman grinned that cheekily as she held up a two-finger sign.

"That's me~!" She responded in a sing-song voice. "I'm guessing Gin told you about me, didn't he?"

Hearing the pumpkin king's name instantly made Ichigo scowl before looking away from the fellow town member; He turned his attention to the ground, never making eye contact from her.

"Not really, I just hear from people, that's all." He muttered. Then he looked back up at her. "And what's that sign stand for?"

Rangiku looked at the gesture that she is holding up, before smiling at him.

"Oh, this? It's called a peace sign, or V, some humans call it," she explained. "They usually do it if they won at some lame contest or something like that. I think it's cool, don't you think?"

"Um…not really. No."

"Hmm…well, anyway, have you seen Gin?" she asked. "I haven't seen him since last night when he's out looking for you." Ichigo could hear that damn cheeky smile in her voice. "Did you happen to see him?"

Ichigo just scowled at the ground as he clenched the stump of his missing limb tighter.

"Like Hell, I did…" he almost cursed. "That bastard wasn't at home."

Rangiku's cat-like ears pricked up on that. That couldn't be right…must be something in her ears today.

"What do you mean…not at home?"

The orange-haired rag doll looked up at her, scowling his usual self.

"I mean…he wasn't at home all night," he replied. "That lazy-ass saxophone player says so when I was there to look for him!" He decided to leave the part about his encounter with the mayor out; he would do fine without questioning.

A blank expression came upon the cat-woman's face, making Ichigo wonder if he said something to make her like this. Normally, from what he heard, that she is greatly known for her love of liquor…and being loud when drunk. But now when she's like this, he has no idea on what to do or say…

"Um…Miss Rangiku?" he spoke out, hoping to get some response from her.

"GIN'S MISSING!?" the outburst from Rangiku almost cause him to fell in the fountain, and Ichigo was lucky enough to have his eardrums intact. Damn, this woman's voice was loud! "OH MY GOD! GIN'S MISSING!!!!"

"Uh, I'm right here…you don't have to yell." Ichigo was at complete loss on what to do. If this keeps up…someone will…

"What the fuck are ya talking about, woman?" a drawling voice was heard, causing Ichigo to freeze up.

_Oh, crap! _He mentally cursed.

Gin and the Mayor weren't the only two people he had to watch out for…there are also potential men who are out for his ass.

"Screw off, you bean-stalk freak," Rangiku yelled at the voice's owner. "I'm in a crisis here!"

The man whom Rangiku called a "bean-stalk freak" glared at her menacingly through his only snake-like eye, since the other one was covered by an eye-patch, as he strode towards her. Probably just out of curiosity from her sudden outburst. His shoulder length hair was hung down and wore a seemingly permanent unfriendly sneer. He was dressed in an ensemble of a black-hooded duster, fitting jeans, and boots. Across his back was a strange weapon that vaguely looked like an axe with a crescent blade. This is one of those who always find a way to grope Ichigo….and harass him whenever one of them ever had the chance.

Nnoitra Jiruga, the Grim Reaper.

God he hated this guy as much as the others! Ever since he first laid his snake eye on him (as well as the others), he's been hounding his ass since day one. At first, Ichigo thought that he's after his soul or something (Nnoitra is infamous for offing some unlucky john in Halloween Town or in the Human Realm). Unfortunately, he was wrong.

"Ah, go puke out a hairball or something," Nnoitra spat at her. "Besides, what are you yammering about right now? Aside from those usual drunken banters you make."

Seeing that he was distracted by the Rangiku, Ichigo silently slip away before either one of them notices and/or anyone in town will gain attention.

"Gin's missing!" Rangiku exclaimed. "Berry-tan told me himself!"

The tall reaper perked a bit at the word "Berry-tan". "Berry-tan?" then a lecherous grin crept on his face. "You mean Ichigo-chan is here?"

The ginger-haired woman calmed down a bit before thought about something.

"You know, now that I think about it…" then she turned to the spot where Ichigo was. "Hey, whatever happened to your…"

But instead of finding the orange-haired ragdoll, all she saw was an empty spot where Ichigo used to be.

"…Arm?"

Rangiku was confused, per say, but quickly brushed it off to get back on her spazz fest over the fact that her childhood friend was missing, slowly gaining the attention of the townspeople. Nnoitra, on the other hand, was pissed. May the creators of this universe have pity on the poor soul who was about to face the Grim Reaper's wrath…

--

"Man…that was a close one…" Ichigo said to himself as he slowly walked back to his house.

Nnoitra the Grim Reaper was one of the most dangerous citizens of Halloween Town. Legend has it (or in Ichigo's vocabulary, rumor has it), that a long time ago…there was actually a soul that he had a hard time collecting. A Halloween Scrooge named Baraggan Luisenbarn. From what he heard, the old human has been causing some trouble for them each Halloween. In desperation, Mayor Aizen had no choice (in the citizens' eyes) but to dispatch Nnoitra to "erase" him. Nnoitra, greatly known for his bloodlust, was more than ecstatic than to complete the assignment.

But once he entered the Human Realm, he had more than he bargained for.

The old man was stubborn, arrogant, and over-confident that nothing will bring him to his knees, even the childish pranks from teenagers were considered child's play to him. He has gone far as referring himself as "the most fearless being of the Universe". Needless to say, Nnoitra the Reaper always loved a challenge. The hunt for his soul lasted for thirteen days before Halloween. What happened to Luisenbarn on Halloween night…was too gruesome.

Ichigo never wanted to be left alone with that man, as much as he doesn't want to be alone with anyone who wanted to be in his pants.

Including Gin Ichimaru…

Growling at the thought of his name, Ichigo let out a frustrated scream, sending a small murder of crows flying in fright.

"GIN! YOU BETTER HAVE THAT ARM BACK IN ONE PIECE, OR ELSE YOU HAVE ANOTHER THING COMING! YOU HEAR ME?!?!"

-

"Ah…AH-CHOO!" Gin sneezed out, before looking around cautiously.

Hopefully, no one heard him…

"I must have comin' down with somethin'…" he muttered to himself before turning to the "souvenirs" he had gathered so far.

"Alright…got that…got that…also got those…" he counted each item. Then he knelt down and scooped up the cold white stuff. "And also this," then into the sack it goes. "And last but not least…" Gin pulled out a rectangular box wrapped in some shiny red paper and topped off with a black bow. He smiled with excitement as he carefully placed it back in the sack, before straightening up to look around in the white wonderland.

"Now…how do I get outta here?"

-

A/N

I'm giving Ichigo screaming fits lately…anyways, reviews are much appreciated.

--

Explanation on the last chapter and this chapter…

I wanted to portray Gin's shock and fascination at the new things that he had never seen before, just like Jack from TNbC. Such as "cold white stuff" for snow, fat bird with big feathers for turkey, odd green plant for the four-leaf-clover, etc.


	7. Chapter 7: ICHIMARU GIN! WHERE ARE YOU!

Many thanks to Fall and Kat!

-

Sounds of panting were heard as a young girl ran through the streets of Halloween Town. Her hair was in a messy bun as a result of being fixed in a hurry. She held on to her witch-like hat to keep it in place, so that it wouldn't fly away while she was running. Why…oh, why, does the Mayor always do this kind of thing to her?

WHAT POSSESS HIM TO MAKE HER OVERSLEEP!?!

"I have to hurry," Momo said to herself as she turned a corner. "Mayor Aizen will be at Gin-san's house right now!"

When she entered the town square, and what happened next completely blew her away.

"GIN'S MISSING?! OH MY GOD, GIN'S MISSING!!!!!!"

Momo instantly knew that voice; she'd recognize it from anywhere –anywhere being either a boutique shop or the local bar. Without a thought, she went to the source of the voice, but, still, kept her appointment with her boss and the town leader in mind. When she got there, she saw that it was Gin's friend, Masumoto Rangiku the were-cat. She could see that the cat woman was in a panic; her tail was frizzled up as it stuck stiffly up in the air. She also saw Nnoitra Jiruga…who she was very uncomfortable to be around with. But then again, who isn't?

Momo heard rumors about this man, and seeing him up close was twice as terrifying. His towering height could easily make her feel microscopic with her petite stature.

Gulping back her fear, Momo went over to the ranting ginger-haired woman, whose spazzed out rants were quickly drawing attention from the other town people. Momo didn't need to hear what Rangiki was saying to know that she was ranting about Gin. Still, it was polite to ask.

"Rangiku-san, what's wrong?" she asked, walking over to the older woman.

"Gin's missing! That's what's wrong!" the cat-woman replied; practically pulling her long gorgeous hair. "Oh, this is terrible!"

"We heard that already. God, you're like a broken jukebox!" A young man drawled. His voice had a bored tone in it; he obviously didn't care much about their town leader missing. But then again…he didn't care about anyone who was of a higher rank then him; it really irked Momo to no end.

The said man had long shocking blue hair and sports blue furry cat-like ears, longer than Rangiku's. In place of his hands and feet were what looked like a panther's claws and a long whip-like tail sway behind him. He was also a werecat, except a bit more feral than his female counterpart. And more aggressive too.

"Shut your pie hole, Grimmjow," Rangiku snapped. "I just heard this from Ichigo that he was missing, ok?"

Momo could have sworn that she saw those ears twitch on the man known as Grimmjow's head at the mention of that certain name.

"Ichigo…?" he spoke, sounding a bit too eager.

"Don't even think about it, Jaegerjaquez," the Grim Reaper sneered at him. "He seems to have disappeared somewhere. Probably looking for that bone-headed fool…"

Jealousy was evident in his voice. The reason was obvious; Momo couldn't deny the fact that Kurosaki Ichigo, the ragdoll, is an exquisite beauty in his own right. One could wonder how many heads of men he could have turned.

"Tch, I don't believe you, Jiruga." Grimmjow snarled at his rival, his sharp canines were bared.

Nnoitra glared at the blue werecat with malice before brandishing his weapon as the latter tracts his claws. A rumbling growl escaped from Grimmjow's lips as everyone slowly backs away from the on-coming scene. It was not out of the ordinary to see the two of them go at each other's throats, especially if a certain ragdoll boy was concerned.

"There will be no need for that." A familiar velvety smooth voice spoke out.

A sound of light gasp escaped from Momo's lips before turning to the source of the familiar voice. It was the man that she had always looked up too…

"Mayor Aizen!"

Then she quickly became concern at the Mayor's appearance. He looked worse for wear; his clothes were tussled and dirty like he had fallen from a case of stairs. He nursed an ugly black and blue bruise on his cheek that is slowly forming. Like any girl, the sight wrenched Momo's heart with grief.

"My God, Mayor Aizen, what happened to you?" Momo ran other to her employer's side, ready to support him should he collapse.

"Pardon me, Sir, but you looked like shit." Grimmjow remarked. "More than usual, of course…" There was a tone of defiance and mockery as he smirked at the town leader.

The small witch whipped her head towards the blue-haired man and shot him a glare. Her normally sweet face was replaced by an angered one. "How dare you! Show some respect for the Mayor!" This man was despicable. Momo had always wondered why he is a member of this town. She never found the answer and, perhaps, never will.

The blue cat-man shifted his light sapphire eyes over to Momo and shot a death glare at her, making her flinch slightly. But she stood her ground. Even if he was brutally stronger than her, he was no match for her fire magic.

"Easy there, Hinamori-kun," he coaxed his young attendant. "It doesn't bother me at all, and besides…" He turned his attention to Grimmjow, his expression is very unreadable. "I'm not easy to kill, right, Grimmjow?" Both his face and eyes looked kind, but the aura radiating around him is cold…and blood-thirsty.

The blue were-cat growled audibly, but he didn't voice a response. Sure, he had a reputation of disregarding those in charge; however Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez always knew his limits when it came down to it. Mayor Aizen has powers that can easily take anyone down. Almost anyone, at least.

"But enough of this nonsense," the Mayor spoke. "Our only main concern is finding Gin…we only have 364 days until next Halloween. I want everyone searching; leave no stone unturned." Then a glowering gleam appeared in his "normally" kind eyes. "Is that clear everyone?"

In an instant, everyone went into high gear. Whatever words that Aizen spoke…was his law.

"I'll check the mausoleums!" a deep-voiced masked man shouted, running off to the cemetery.

A teenage brunet girl tugged the arm of her spiky blond companion with what seems like over-excited eagerness. "C'mon, Menoly!" she said, practically dragging the poor girl. "Let's go see if Bone-Head's in one of the sarcophagi!"

Watching all of the excitement from the alleyway, a small pink-haired corpse girl turned to her surrogate guardian/father with a big smile on her face.

"Ken-chan, this looks like fun!" she said. "You think we should join too?"

A grunt was heard from the corpse man as he nodded in response, causing the small bells that were attached to his strangely spiked hair to jingle by his movements. An eye-patch covered his already decaying right eye. Hearing the news, the corpse man smiled sadistically as he turned to the corpse child, looking at her with his remaining eye.

"Sounds like a good idea to me too, Yachiru," he replied. "Let's see if we can find that fox-face in the pumpkin patch."

"Yay! We're gonna find Mr. Fox-face!" the girl known as Yachiru cheered as they walked out of the alley. "…Ken-chan?"

"Ah?"

"…Do you know where the pumpkin patch is?"

"…."

This is going to be a long day.

-

The Kurosaki Household/Laboratory…

Masaki took a peek out of the kitchen window from her cooking, hearing the excited bustle of the town.

"My, everybody seems to be so busy this morning…" she said to herself before she proceeded to stir the soup. Or…what _looked _like soup. She stirred the simmering green liquid before scooping a small amount into a small saucer and tasting it. Masaki concentrated on what her taste buds were telling her, almost like asking if anything was missing.

"Hmm…maybe some little worm's wart." Then she set the dish down before heading over to the spice rack. The ragdoll woman searched through the vials, trying to find the worm's wart. "Let's see…butterfly bones…spider legs…frog's breath? No too bitter…snake eyes…ah!" Found it. "Worm's wart, just what I need." She grabbed the bottle before heading back to the soup and pours some of the contents in. A delicious aroma filled her nostrils, signifying that it was ready to eat.

Thinking about how her husband/creator would react to her cooking brought a smile to her face.

"This will rejuvenate his strength…he's been working harder than usual."

--

Isshin's lab/happy place…

The main laboratory was dark and gloomy as always…dimly lit lights where shone as the mad scientist and genius extraordinaire works feverishly at his station. Silence hung in the air as he works. The only noise came from a CD that he had purchased from long time ago in the Human Realm.

_Ma-ia-hii_

_Ma-ia-huu_

_Ma-ia-haa_

_Ma-ia-haha…_

Isshin grinned, danced and lip-synched to the song while at the same time checking the X-rays of his two daughters. Just being his usual daffy self…despite his "mad genius" reputation. So, for now, he's just making sure that the interior of his daughters' bodies were ok.

"Alo, Salut, sunt eu, un haiduc…" He sang along to the lyrics. Tried to, at least, since it's in another language, but who gives a damn these days? "Si te rog, iubirea mea, primeste fericirea…"

_Alo…alo…sunt eu Picasso…_

_Ti-am dat beep…_

-beep, beep, beep-

_Si sunt voinic dar sai stii nu-ti cer nimic…_

_Vrei sa pleci dar numa, numa iei…_

_Numa, numa iei, numa, numa, numa iei…_

_Chipul tau si dragostea din tei,_

_Mi-amintesc de ochii tai…_

As he danced to the song, he failed to notice his wife coming down with a bowl of soup in hand. When she walked down, she couldn't help but laugh softly at her husband's silly antics. One of the things that she loved about him…

"Lunch, dear!" Masaki announced, making her appearance known.

Isshin looked up from his study (and dancing) and saw his beloved spouse coming down stairs. A grin appeared on his face as he practically bounced away from his station to her.

"Hello, my beautiful wife!" he greeted before planting a kiss upon her lips. "And what's this?" He took a whiff of the aroma from the soup, before his smile brightens more. "Worm's wart stew! Oh, Masaki, you shouldn't have."

Masaki returned a smile to him before pecking his cheek. "Well, you've been cooped up in this place since last night; I thought something in your stomach will boost you up a bit."

The dark-haired scientist scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "I do, didn't I?" he asked. "Don't worry, I won't overwork myself." His tone was warm and reassuring, a bit different from his goofy side. But there were times when he shows the serious side, another thing that Masaki loved about him. Then they almost jumped when they heard something like a yowling cat going off at the distance. Listening closely to it brought confusion to Isshin when he recognizes that sound.

"That's odd…" he said. "Mayor Aizen only used that for emergencies, I wonder what's up?"

"I'm not sure…it couldn't have something to do with the preparations for next Halloween, is it?" Masaki questioned, looking at her husband. Isshin turned to her and the only response he could give her is a shrug.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, is Ichigo ok?" his tone was now serious and concern for his only son. Sure, he ambushed him with surprise attacks, but that was his way of keeping Ichigo on his toes. Whether he was in the house, or out and about in the streets of Halloween Town where men with raging hormones would pounce on him at any given moment. Not to mention show how much he cared about Ichigo…even if he had to get injured in the process.

"I tried to get him up this morning…but I didn't get any answer from him." Masaki replied. "Do you think he's sic…?"

But just when she was about to finish, they both heard a crashing noise upstairs.

"Uh, what was that?" Isshin spoke.

--

"Ow…" comes a pained groan as Ichigo got off of the floor with his only arm and knees. This really sucked, not only he had to climb up the highest window that leads to his bedroom, he had to climb up with only one arm! That and he nearly slipped and lost one of his remaining limbs.

"This couldn't get any…"

"Ichigo?" then came a few knocks on his door.

"…worse."

Scrambling up to his feet, Ichigo quickly shut his window and threw off his shoes before jumping into bed, pulling the covers over his head and pretending to sleep. He heard the iron door creaking open and footsteps coming in.

"Ichigo?" he heard his mother spoke, sounding concern for him. "Ichigo, are you ok?"

Not wanting to arouse any suspicion, Ichigo let out a sound, signifying that he is a bit awake. Hopefully, his mother would buy it…

"You're not having a fever, are you?" She asked. Ichigo mumbled out a sound that vaguely sounded like "no". "I tried to wake you up this morning, so I thought you were still sleeping."

_Actually, I snuck out before any of you woke up. Just to get my arm back and only found out that bone-headed fox-face wasn't at home. __**At all**__._

"Sorry, Mom…" He apologized. "I have trouble getting to sleep last night."

_No thanks to that weird dream…_

Masaki pursed her lips before soothingly rubs Ichigo's back.

"Well, come downstairs if you're hungry," she said. "Your father and I were very worried about you."

Just then, there was a loud banging noise that almost made Ichigo leap out of his bed. Reluctantly, he peeked out of the covers and saw, to his horror, his father standing by the doorway…with a thermometer and a jar of strange jelly. The wide grin on that goat-faced bastard's face was the only warning he got before…

"But just to be on the safe side, we should check your temperature!" he crowed cheerfully.

Ichigo shot out of the bed and reached for the nearest thing that he could grab before throwing it at his father's face. The alarm clock, which it turned out to be, landed square on Isshin's face. The sudden impact caused the scientist to drop his things before falling down hard on the floor.

"DON'T YOU EVEN DARE, GOAT-FACE!" Ichigo barked at the unconscious man, shooting him one of his best glares.

The ragdoll woman sighed lightly before placing a soothing kiss that quickly calms her eldest son down before walking over to her husband, who was muttering something about dancing…oompa lumpas(1)?

_Everyone is so excited today…_

-

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter…please review! Oh, and in any case I never make it to finish this before or after Christmas…

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

-

Featured Song: Dragostea din tei/The Numa Numa Song by O-Zone

Author's note(s): 1. Oompa Lumpas – refers to one of Tim Burton's adaptation on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Now for everyone's pleasure…the first ever…

**Bad Day Dream Omake!**

This was bad…this was really, really, bad. Zaraki Kenpachi, the Flower-treading Corpse Tiger, was in a really bad situation. He could take down a building with a single slice of his worn-down sword…he could still stand, even if he was sliced up…Hell, he could lift two boulders with one hand if he has too! But there was one thing that always set him back.

His lack of sense of direction.

Kenpachi felt his good eye twitch before turning to his small surrogate daughter.

"This is the wrong place!" he scolded. "You said that this is the way to the pumpkin patch!"

The pink-haired child looked at the huge man with an offended pout before replying.

"I was sure that this is the way! Besides, _**you **_were the one who asked me, Ken-chan!" the way she emphasize the one word "you" in that certain tone, showed that she was insulted for not getting the gratefulness that she deserves for helping him. If there is anyone…ANYONE…that Kenpachi cares about in this dream world…it was her.

And besides…he could feel that nagging dull gut wrenching sensation in his stomach.

"Look, I'm sorry…" he apologized. "But this isn't the way to the pumpkin patch…"

"But I was certain…" Yachiru said, staring at their mistaken destination with a slight drool.

There stood before them wasn't the pumpkin patch that they were looking for…

Instead…what they both found was a…

"A candy shop!?" Kenpachi exclaimed. "That's it, I'm gonna rely on my instincts!"

"No, Ken-chan! Not yet! Let's pick up some snacks first!"


	8. Chapter 8: GIN HAS RETURNED!

**Thousand thanks to my betas Kat and Fall!**

**This chapter originally was meant to be a solo long chapter, but I decided to break it apart for now. But I will make it up to the next one, please enjoy!**

"Loly, Menoly, have you both checked all of the sarcophagi?"

The twin girls nodded as they stood stiffly before the Mayor.

"Yes, Sir, we've checked every last one," The brunette pig-tailed girl reported, trying her best attempt to sound professional. It was obvious that she was trying to get on his good side, but he'll ignore it for now. Her blonde twin, however, looked down at the ground sheepishly.

"Though…one of them contains Hirako Shinji…" The blonde girl gulped back a lump in her throat in embarrassment. "And we seem to have stumble upon him during his…"

"I'll be grateful if you stop right there, Menoly-kun." Then Aizen turned to a dark-haired young man who was holding up a black umbrella to protect him from the sun's rays. Judging by his state of staring blankly into space, he seemed to be there quite a while. "Well, what do you have to report, Ulquiorra?"

The man known as Ulquiorra turned to the brunet with an unreadable expression; his deep green eyes were melancholic, almost depressed. He was dressed darkly from head to toe; rather strange for something to wear, considering the bright day…then again, this is Halloween Town. His complexion was rather sickly pale, in contrast to his healthy state. He stared up at the mayor before monotonously responding, "I looked behind the Cyclops' eyeball."

Aizen rose a dark eyebrow at the latter's response.

"Behind…the Cyclops' eye, right?" he could have sworn that this man said something like that.

Ulquiorra simply nodded.

"I did…and he wasn't there. Plus the blood wasn't good. So, now if you will excuse me…I should be back in my coffin." He stated before leaving off without another word.

Aizen shot a glare at Ulquiorra's back as he made a mental note to himself to give that man a hobby. But until then, first things first…

He checked off the map in his hand before scanning through it.

"Did anyone check the Black Lagoon?" he asked.

"I went through it, Mr. Mayor," a mature female voice spoke up. "And sadly, I didn't find Ichimaru in it."

Aizen looked up and saw a beautiful well-endowed blonde woman standing before him. Her skin was darkly tanned and was dressed in an oddest outfit. She wore a bluish-green top that bares a good portion of the lower half of her more than ample breasts and had a collar that covered the lower part of her face, revealing only her sea-green eyes. She also wore a matching pair of torn fitting pants with fish-net stockings underneath. There were slit-openings on each side of her ribs that almost resembles a shark's gills.

The Mayor narrowed his eyes as he took in the information from the strange "fish-woman".

"Are you certain, Harribel?" he questioned her.

Harribel nodded in response before replying, "Yes, I've checked it three times. Nothing…oh, and I believe I saw Kenpachi and that child leaving to search through the pumpkin patch. But knowing them…they might get lost… _**Again**_."

Aizen sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. This is getting ridiculous…they've searched top to bottom of the town, and they still haven't found Gin. It's almost like he had vanished into thin air. And the only place left to search through is…

Then he checked the map again, and found the unmarked spot.

The Kurosaki Laboratory and manor.

Thinking back on his morning encounter with that pretty little rag doll…maybe he should question him about where Gin is. And maybe have some little fun with him…alone…in his bedroom…

Thinking about some various ways to…_punish_ Ichigo, made the dark-brunet smirk. Oh the many ways to bring that rebellious doll to him.

"Maybe I could…" He said to himself before being cut off by something.

"Yip-yip!" went a familiar yipping bark.

One of the twins looked up at the sound before speaking. "Hear that?"

Meloly looked over to her sister in confusion. "What?" she asked.

The only response she received from Loly was a shushing sound, silently telling her to be quiet and listen. Everyone that was present quiet down and listened hard for something to happen. And sure enough, the sound of barking became louder and near…along with a sound of a mobile's engine.

"Shinso!" Rangiku exclaimed, her cat ears were perked up in excitement.

Everyone in town cheered as Gin rode in on what looks like a hybrid of an automobile and a go-cart, followed by a barking ghost-fox. Dragging along behind it was a rather large sack that looked like it was about to burst out its contents. Shinso barked happily as Gin slowed down and parked, while the townspeople gathered around him in excitement. Their voices were a mixture of relief, concern, questioning…not to mention some other things that rather be left unsaid. Aizen watched with a slight interest as Gin sets the goggles he wore on his head.

"Where have you been?" the Mayor asked. "We all spend all day looking for you."

_And there goes my plan to question Ichigo…_

Gin stood up excitedly before responding to the other man. Apparently, he seemed to have gone somewhere; somewhere beyond their Halloween Town…but the question is where?

"Call a town meeting, and I will tell everyone _everything._" He said, still grinning.

Aizen took note of his grin, seeing how that he is smiling more than usual.

"When?" he asked, wanting to know what he had in store for the whole town. Somewhere in his gut, it was going to turn this whole place upside down.

His suspicion was confirmed when Gin's smile became wider, almost rivaling a Chesire Cat that he had read about from a book, something about a girl falling into a hole and drugs, what-not.

"_IMMEDIATELY!"_

-

"Attention, citizens of Halloween Tow, there will be a town meeting tonight!" Momo's voice broadcasted from the speaker that is attached to the Mayor's car as she drove around. "I repeat town meeting tonight!"

Her voice was heard throughout the whole town, even through the iron-clad walls of the Kurosaki Lab. The Kurosaki family were preparing in the living room as soon as they got the message.

"Ah! A town meeting on the day after Halloween," Isshin said with pure excitement. "This will be a great time for the girls to interact with our townsfolk!" Then he turned to his wife who was fixing up the girls. "Wouldn't you agree, dear?"

Masaki smiled as she fixed the red poncho she made for Yuzu. Stitched upon the crimson fabric was a spider web, which looked like it taken hours to be sewn on; poking out of it was a spandex-like outfit that covers her arms and legs (1). But, since Masaki was good with the needle, it almost took no time at all. "Oh, they will, Honey. Karin and Yuzu will blend with the crowd in no time." She said. The light brunette dusted lint off of Yuzu's shoulders, as her young daughter admired at her mother's handiwork.

"You make pretty clothes, Mama," the rag doll child commented. "Can you teach me how to make them sometime?"

Masaki smiled brightly as she stood up while smoothing out the wrinkles off of her ragged dress.

"Of course, sweetheart," then she turned to Karin, who was sitting rather patiently. "What about you, Karin? Do you like to learn how to sew as well?"

Karin, like her sister, also wore the handmade clothes from her mother. Her outfit was all black and made of some kind of leather material. It somehow vaguely resembles a sleeveless jump-suit suit of some kind, though it was stitched in a similar ragged fashion. Looping over her torso and legs were extra belts that Karin stumbled upon while exploring around the house one late afternoon, and thought that it would spice up her outfit a bit, making it look like a bondage suit (2). For a prepubescent girl, she pulled it off good.

Karin just simply shook her head in a polite manner. "Nah, don't think it's my calling," she responded. "But thank you anyway."

Masaki nodded, showing that she understood that before looking up at the door to Ichigo's room. She stared at the iron door with concern before turning to her husband.

"Isshin, do you think we should leave Ichigo alone for tonight?" she asked. "I don't know if he's interested in attending the town meeting."

The only response she received was the same maniacal grin.

"Oh, nonsense, my beautiful wife!" he said. "I'm sure what Ichigo's spirit needs is the brightening up by the meeting, who knows? Maybe we'll get something juicy from Gin."

"Perhaps…but maybe…"

"It'll be fine, Masaki," he reassured her. "It'll be fine…"

The doctor looked up to Ichigo's bedroom door before opening his mouth to yell,

"ICHIGO! Come join us to our family adventure to the Town Meeting tonight!"

"NO!" came out from behind the iron door. It was a wonder that sound could travel through hard material.

Karin watched with a blank expression before turning to her father.

"He's not gonna come down, you know." She said.

The dark-haired man gave it a thought over plan B a bit before snapping his fingers as a grin crept on his face.

"Ichigo…if you're not feeling well, I could always _check your temperature…_"

The twins waited for some kind of response from their elder brother, as silence hung thickly in the air. Then a few moments later…a creaking sound of the iron door was heard and series of footsteps were followed down the stairs. Entering into the living room was Ichigo, now wearing a black hooded jacket as an overcoat to cover up his loss of his arm.

"Fine, let's go then." He grumbled as he headed for the front door.

Isshin grinned as he and the remaining three followed suit.

"That's the spirit, my dutiful son!"

-

I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter…stay tuned for more on _Two Holidays, One Wish_!

Author's Note(s)

Yuzu's outfit is based off of the character Lydia from the animated version of one of Tim Burton's films, Beetlejuice.

Based off of the titular character's outfit from Edward Scissorhands, another one of Tim Burton's films. It does kind of resemble a bondage suit if one thinks about it…

-

**Bad Day Dream Omake presents:**

**Rangiku's Curiosity…almost killed her.**

**-**

Momo was just minding her own business as she is preparing some finishing touches inside the town meeting hall. Well, actually, she was just working on the set lights while Gin was doing something behind the backstage, forbidding anyone to help him, much less to see what he was up to. But as the mayor's assistant, she has to put up with the Pumpkin King's shenanigans, even if she has to question his sanity…

"Hey, Momo!" a familiar voice popped up, causing the small witch to jump.

"Gahh!" the brunette cried out before turning to the voice's source and found the all-too familiar face of a grinning cat woman. "Rangiku-san, you scared the living daylights out of me!"

Rangiku grin her Cheshire-like grin as her tail flick behind her playfully, while she relaxed on the beam.

"I'm sorry, Momo, it won't happen again!" she apologizes in her usual playful tone, that made Momo questioned if she really meant it. "But anyway…" Rangiku sounded serious. Well, just a bit, to Momo's ears. "What's Gin up to? I haven't seen him this spazzy since he was coming up a revenge plot against Grimm for switching his dried persimmon with some dried out sweet potato."

The young witch shrugged before continuing her duties.

"I have no idea, Rangiku…" she admitted. "He hasn't told either me or the Mayor. You're his closest friend, why won't you ask him?"

"I guess I will!" Then next thing Momo knew, Rangiku nimbly leapt from the beam and lands on her feet when she finally reached the floor.

The buxum woman hums cheerfully to herself as she strolled over to the backstage. Her cat ears flicked for any slightest sound as she slowed her pace. No sign of Gin anywhere…but one cannot be too careful. Using her stealth, Rangiku kept her ears open as she begins to crawl like a feral cat hunting its game. Looking behind the backstage curtain, she saw a something that is completely covered by a white sheet.

_That's strange…_she thought to herself. _What is Gin up to?_

Curiosity has taken full control of her logic as she was about to make a move.

"Rangiku…"

The ginger-haired woman flinched at the familiar voice; both of her ears and tail were stiffly sticking straight up in the air. She felt something tighten uncomfortably in her throat, making her to swallow it. Rangiku slowly looked over her shoulder and saw Gin standing behind her, looking down with a smile that clearly says "caught you".

"What are ya doin'?" the thin man asked, still smiling.

Rangiku was in deep shit right now…there are rare times when she saw him angry, and this is definitely not the best time to see him angry right now. She could have sworn the area around them had dropped below zero degrees.

"Well, you see, Gin…I…" Rangiku responded, while at the same time trying to think of some sort of excuse.

_Oh, whom am I kidding? This is Gin I'm taking on here! Even with 900 lives, how am I gonna get out of this one?! I'm dead!_

"Ya know…about what they say with cats and curiosity, right?" Gin asked, before opening one eye to reveal deadly crimson.

Rangiku whimpered as she nodded.

"Well…I'll go easy on ya…but ya have to suffer the consequences…" he reached into his breast pocket and held up a small slip of paper in front of Rangiku. The cat woman instantly knew what it was, her ice-blue eyes widen in terror as she stared at it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

-Few minutes later-

Rangiku walked back to her house slowly, her ears and tail were crest-fallen as she sobbed.

"You're such a cruel bastard. Why…oh, why, Gin…" she whimpered. "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO GO AND CANCEL MY DRINKING TICKET?!"


	9. Chapter 9: The Town Meeting

**Warning: the following chapter may contain yaoi/shounen-ai, molestation, shoujo-ai/yuri bits, and some things that were better left unsaid to those who are physically and/or mentally a child. Oh, and sorry if there is some confusion on how I assembled the names in original Japanese or English form in the past chapters. **

**Many thanks to my Beta, Fall  
**

**-**

The Kurosaki family entered into the Halloween Town Hall as every citizen scramble about to find a good seat. Isshin guides the family through the crowd as Masaki kept the girls close to her, so they wouldn't get lost. Ichigo always hated the town meetings…for many reasons. But there were three that took priority. One, it was always noisy. Two, it was always crowded. And three…

"Whoa!" Ichigo cried out as he felt himself being yanked into one of the aisle seats and was held tightly around the waist. His remaining arm was held tightly to his side, rendering him more useless than he already was. Then he felt something furry poking against his cheek as loud snores filled his ear. Ah, yes, _three_…

Stalkers were out for his ass.

Ichigo turned his head to see who the culprit was and sure enough he saw a mop of messy brown hair with wolf-like ears…and a wagging shaggy dog-like tail.

"Starrk?!" he exclaimed.

The wolf-man lifted his head up and groggily stared at the disgruntled rag doll who was glaring daggers at him. He just shrugged and laid his head near his neck to sleep, inhaling the sweet scent from the patchwork skin.

"Mmmm…strawberries…" he mumbled, snuggled closer to Ichigo.

An orange eyebrow twitched in irritation as Ichigo struggled to get his left arm free. "Starrk…Starrk, you have to let go." He said.

Hearing that and feeling his pillow struggling, only resolved the latter to make his grip tighter.

"Whipped cream…"

Ichigo stopped struggling out of the werewolf's grip and turned to him in confusion.

"What…?"

"Chocolate syrup…"

"…."

"Strawberries, whipped cream, AND chocolate syrup…" he could see a drool dribbling down the side of Starrk's mouth as a small smile crept on his lips. If those are not enough, then the thing that is poking at his hip confirms it. He doubts that he had something hanging on his belt…

"GET OFF OF ME!"

WHAM!

A good left hook was all Ichigo needed to punch the lights out of Starrk "Coyote" Greyback. Among other things. Starrk wasn't always this sleepy; he was normally…well, apathetic...not to mention lazy. But ever since he laid eyes on Ichigo, that was when the problems started to rise. There was no place for him to hide since Starrk is unbelievably good at stealth, Hell, he even mentions that he had to _mark _him in different ways! And it wasn't not just biting!

So, that leads the poor rag doll to desperate measures. Every night, when it was the safest, Ichigo would go out to gather some Deadly Nightshades for his father, who makes sleeping medicine out of them. Being raised by a doctor (especially an "insane" one) really has some benefits. All he had to do is to gather a large quantity, sneak some as his secret stash, spike some biscuits and give them to Starrk…and voíla, drugged werewolf.

Unfortunately, he unintentionally made Starrk a narcoleptic.

That raises some questions, not to mention complaints, from a spitfire of his younger sister, Lilynette. Ichigo had to come up outlandish excuses on why he was the last person that Starrk had seen every time he gave him a drugged biscuit. And ever since that incident, Ichigo had never made a single Deadly Nightshade-laced biscuit…and also Starrk constantly sleeping. He long ago concluded that it might be a side effect from the cookies, or it's just part of his nature. Perhaps the combo of the two…

Back to the present, Ichigo leapt out of the seat, holding on to his jacket in any case it will fall off as he backed away. That was when he hit something unexpectedly hard. The one thing he knew that this place wasn't built to be ridiculously narrow in the interior width, and the other thing was that walls don't breathe…and weren't firm. And doesn't smell like…rotting flesh. Gulping a lump that formed uncomfortably in his throat, Ichigo made a daring move and peeked over his shoulder on the person he bumped into.

When he saw the person…there were no words to express how horrified he was.

"Za-Zaraki…K-K-Kenpachi…"

Ichigo instantly flinched when a familiar smile broke on the taller man's face as he stared down at the orange-haired rag doll with a look of a predator cornering its prey. And unfortunately for Ichigo…that seemed to be the case.

"Well, hello there, Ragberry," Kenpachi purred as he leered down at Ichigo, who automatically resists correcting the other man. Because of Kenpachi's reputation for fighting…and consequently killing, crossing the man was something that ought to be avoided.

He hated that nickname…sure his name sounded feminine and all, but in a different writing it means "One Guardian Angel" or "One Guardian" (though, truth be told, he preferred the latter; he couldn't see how he could be angelic). But nooo….he wasn't called "One Guardian". The Mayor just had to tell one of his stories about his travels in the Human Realm. In there, his name means "strawberry".

Since that day…Ichigo was now known as "Ragberry Doll". Much to his displeasure…

Ichigo gave the corpse man a sheepish smile before trying to run away to search for his family. But for someone who is supposed to be dead, Kenpachi was faster. Not to mention stronger.

"Not so fast, Ichigo," the corpse warrior said, grabbing Ichigo by the waist and held him up tightly to his chest. "Is that a way to greet an old friend?"

As Ichigo struggled in the man's grip, he unknowingly rubs his bottom on Kenpachi's most prized area, making him more aroused than he was before.

This was way better than hunting down that damned Fox-Face all day…now if only he could get this cute little doll out of the building without anyone noticing…

"Dolly! How are ya?" a small but familiar voice piped up.

Kenpachi whipped his head to where his surrogate daughter in surprise as she popped up behind his shoulder. Ichigo took advantage of this and swung his leg up, before brought it down to Kenpachi's crotch in a hard kick. The corpse man gave out a pained scream as his grip around Ichigo loosened, giving him the chance to escape. He watched the latter doubled in pain as the pink-haired corpse child tend to him, before without a second thought tried to find some distance between him.

As he was about to begin his search for his family, Ichigo once again felt himself grabbed from behind but this time…was sandwiched between the fifth and sixth stalkers.

"Oh, fuck me…" he grumbled as he glanced at the men who grabbed him.

Grimmjow grinned as he leers at the rag doll, making the latter flinch in disgust.

"Oh, I intend to, Doll-face," he responded in a seductive tone, leaning in on him. Ichigo made a face as he leaned away, instantly regretting it when he had forgotten the occupier on his left. Nnoitra grinned as he draped his long arm around the rag doll.

"Heh, always knew that ya can't resist me, Berry-tan," he drawled, pulling him closer. "I was always better than that pussy and that rotting weakling combined." Ichigo could have sworn he heard him sniff his hair, and was about to make a move to elbow him hard in the stomach. But luckily, he didn't have to when he was yanked out of the reaper's grip and into the cat-man's arms. Even if the man had an unhealthy habit of groping him, he was thankful for the save, so he resisted the urge to head-butt him.

"Who are you calling a pussy, bean-stalk freak?!" Grimmjow snapped, holding Ichigo closer to him. He allowed his hand creep down, more specifically to the berry's ass, but he was swatted away. Then he noticed something off about the tangerine-haired cutie…since when was he able to pull him in so close?

"Ya are, fucking pussy!" Nnoitra yelled, pulling out his weapon. Then his single eye narrowed and before Ichigo, even Grimmjow, knew it…he caught an oncoming blade…with his bare hand.

His trademark grin grew on his face as he turns to see his fellow eye-patched man.

"I'm sorry…did you need something, _Zaraki_?" the way Nnoitra said the latter's surname sounded mocking, almost as if he were challenging him.

Kenpachi glared through his single eye, keeping a firm grip on his sword as the small child disappeared, heading for somewhere safe. She wasn't the only one, everyone else was moving away from them, getting as far away from them as the building allowed. Having three of the most dangerous denizens of Halloween Town in one room, at each other's throats, was the worst scenario that any town member could fathom. Of all places and of all the times…why now?

"Calling me a weakling is one thing…" Kenpachi spoke. "But touching what's mine is another!"

Ichigo growled in his throat before shoving Grimmjow off of him. "I am not some toy that you can play around with and throw away after words!" he yelled. What really irked him besides the annoying nicknames (pet names, as they put it), was being treated like an object. Like he was really a doll and not something that breathed…and lived.

A grinning face was flashed through his mind, making Ichigo automatically flinch.

_Damn it…not now…_

Nnoitra frown before looking over to Ichigo, who was glaring at both him and Kenpachi.

"What are ya talking about?" the tall man asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Yeah, Berry," Grimmjow said, wrapping his arms around Ichigo's waist from behind. "What makes you think of that?" Before Ichigo could answer (and kick him in the groin from behind), Kenpachi's fist flew by his head in a milli-second. Landing it right on Grimmjow's face; Ichigo could feel his grip loosening around him. Though, he was grateful for the help, he's still heading for the fire.

"I already told you, God-damned cat!" Kenpachi roared, glaring at the blue cat-man who wiped the blood off of his bleeding lip, baring fangs. "Touch him, and you'll lose more than nine lives!"

"Like Hell, ya gonna kill him first, ya fucking corpse!" Nnoitra snapped before preparing to swing down his weapon, while the latter had his back on him.

But Kenpachi spun around to block it, wearing his trademark grin as they both snarled at each other. Ichigo quickly leapt over the bench when Grimmjow sprang forward to the sparring two before they began a three-way fight. The tangerine-haired rag doll peeked from the other side of the aisle seat, watching the three stalkers fight over him. He had a feeling that things would end up like this somehow…but he didn't think that it would be this bad! Plus there were bystanders here, not to mention the possibility of him losing more than just the other arm.

"Ichigo…" a familiar voice spoke out.

Ichigo looked around for the source and found a sight for sore eyes.

"Climb up here!" A dark-haired boy said, waving his bony hand to him.

He was hung by the neck with the other "skeleton corpses" on the Hanging Tree. He is quite petite for a male, but does give off a gentle aura. Without a second thought, Ichigo scrambled over to the Hanging Tree and Men before climbing up to his branches.

"Sorry about this, Sir," the teen apologized to the animated tree as he climbed up to one of his branches with the help of the dark-haired hang boy. As he settled himself on top of the branch, the hanging boy stared at the brawling three fighters with an odd interest.

"Your popularity with those types never ceases to amaze me, Ichigo." He commented. "You didn't even make an effort and look at the way they're fighting over you!"

Ichigo let out a tsk as he glared at nothing in particular.

"Well, my "popularity" is what jeopardizes my chastity, Mizuiro," he grumbled. "And because of it, my Dad had to set up a 7'o clock curfew! That and I have to look over my shoulder every fifteen seconds."

"But still…you get to turn the ladies' heads as well!" another voice wailed. Ichigo groaned in annoyance at a brunet teen that was hanging next to Mizuiro. He exaggeratedly sobbed, while wiping the tears away. "You get all the hot ones while we, the lower folk, get the leftovers!"

Ichigo sighed through his nose as he stared at the wailing teen with his usual grumpy self.

"Hey, I don't mind passing the popularity torch over to you, Keigo," he said. "Not only you get the girls, but you also have guys running after your ass."

"You're a cruel friend, you know that?!" Keigo exclaimed.

Mizuiro looked over to his companion with a blank stare. "You do know that he's teasing you, right?"

Keigo and Mizuiro were one of the very few who didn't try to grope or jump on Ichigo. He is willing to admit that they're his best friends, even if Keigo is as much of a spaz as his Dad. But still, not everyone was made perfect. The first time he meet those two was the time that he was chased by one of his stalkers, while his guard was down. He had forgotten which one at that time, but he managed to climb up a tree that is strangely adorned with hanged corpses. But he still climbed up for safety. That's when he first met the Hanging Tree…and those two goofballs.

Well, Keigo is the goofball…Mizuiro was just his straight-man.

The dark-haired teen look back to the brawling fighters and saw that Grimmjow grabbed one of the aisle seats with insane strength. It was enough to match up with Kenpachi and Nnoitra. It made up for his lack of weaponry. He was the only one without a weapon.

"Do you think someone should put a stop to this?" he asked. "What if someone gets hurt?"

"You mean killed…" Ichigo corrected him.

But he is right…where was that damned mayor or some other person who is right in the head?! This fight was getting out of hand!

"If ya'll are done playin', how about be nice little boys an' clean up an' take a seat?"

Well, speak of a Devil…for ONCE, was Ichigo glad that _**HE **_is here.

The trio stopped in their fight before turning their glares to the podium, where none other than the Pumpkin King himself stood, wearing his usual fox-like grin.

"Tch, Ichimaru…" Grimmjow spat out. Jealousy and hatred were evident in both his tone and eyes. Same went for Kenpachi and Nnoitra too.

"Well, go on now." Gin ushered them. "Ya'll are wastin' time for everyone here."

Audible growls escaped from the trio as they begrudgingly walk back to their seats (while Grimmjow set the aisle seat down). Everyone let out a breath, finally relived that the fight was over. Ichigo let out a breath that he didn't know that he was holding before sparing a glance at Gin. The silver-haired man took notice of him and flashed him a charming smile, which made Ichigo blush a bit before looking away.

Gin felt a bit crest-fallen but kept his usual poker face as he turned to the townspeople, whose attention was all on him.

"Now with all that dilly-dally moved outta the way," he announced. "I wanna tell ya'll about…Christmas Town."

Everyone stared on in curiosity, eager to hear what their leader had to present. High up above were Mayor Aizen and Momo setting up the limelight before turning it on, shining it on Gin as bats that were resting upon it - scatter, creating a catchy opening. The silver-haired king looked around before presenting his discoveries.

"There were objects so strange, they were way beyond strange," he began. "And they were enough for me to rack around my brain."

Karin and Yuzu let out an ooh as the rest stared on with interest and curiosity. Grimmjow just yawned before propping his cat-like feet up on the seat in front of him while Kenpachi and Nnoitra looked like they wanted to be somewhere else. Ichigo, on the other hand, was more than curious about this. What was Gin trying to say?

"It's a world unlike anythin', and I mean ANYTHIN', that I've ever seen," Gin continued. "And as hard as I try, I can't seem to comprehend. Like experiencin' an indescribable dream…" Then a grin grew wider on his face as he walked down the stage. "But ya must believe when I tell ya'll this, it's as real as my skull and it truly exists! Here, let me show you…"

Then he reached for the cord and pulled it, parting the curtains to show something that no one had seen before. Displayed before them is a skinny tree that was adorned in the strangest things: lights on strings, shiny balls, and what looks like a star on the very top. Colorful boxes surround the tree as a painting of white hills and blue skies served as a background. Gasps of wonder filled in the air as some stared at the display in suspicion, whilst most were a bit scared. Ichigo stared on with amazement as the two hanging corpse boys gap like a couple of fishes. This is really something else…

Gin grinned at the effect that his souvenirs had caused before moving to one of the boxes. "This one, my dear fellow citizens," he began. "Is called a "present". The whole thing starts with a box."

"A box?!" a large dull-looking man named Marechiyo exclaimed. He is known throughout the town to be the only aristocrat. He apparently possess bad taste.

Another man who resembles a stereotypical version of the Devil stood up with interest. "Is it steel?" he asked.

"Any locks?" Rangiku asked, sounding intrigued.

"Is it filled with some kind of disease?!"

The Devil man threw his head back and laughs at the big buffoon. "Ha, a disease? How delightful!" he said. "Typical on how your mind works, that is, if you have one."

The large aristocrat glared at the latter before making a comeback, "Back off, Dordonii, you're just jealous that you're not as plump and rich as I am!"

"Perhaps, I'm quite fortunate of being not like the latter."

"Why, you…"

"If ya please, ya two?" Gin cuts in. Good timing to break up another fight before moving on. "Just a box with bright-colored paper, and toppin' with this bow here," He said, pointing at the beautifully made bow.

Then the two Aizen fangirl sisters came up to him on their broomsticks. Where do they get those things anyway?

"A bow?" Loly asked.

"But why?" Menoly added. "It's so ugly."

"What's in it? What's in it?" the two girls chorused as they closed in on Gin, who instinctively backs away with the present.

"Well, the point of it is not knowin', ladies," he explained before feeling the box being taken away from him.

"I'd say it's a bat!" a strange man who vaguely resembles either a white ant or a stag beetle cried out.

"Will it bend, don't'cha know, Pesche?" a rather large man with a tiki-like mask asked.

"Or…maybe it's some kind of rodent like a rat or a squirrel." Pesche said, sounding doubtful before turning to his companion. "What do you think, Dondochakka?"

"I don't really know, ya know what I mean? But what I like to know is that will it break if ya touch it?"

Then a pretty light green-haired woman stood up from her seat beside Harribel. She is well-endowed like her, but dressed a bit more modestly with a hooded green gown. Ram-like horns jotted from the sides of her head and a red tattoo stretches horizontally across her nose.

"Maybe it's the head that Harribel and I found in the lake one time," she suggested.

Gin sighed through his nose before taking the present away from the annoying ant-stag beetle creature.

"Listen, ya don't understand the point of Christmas, now pay attention to here…" he placed the box down before picking up a large red sock. "Now what we have here is an over-sized sock," Then he held it up to a wall. "You hang it like this on the wall."

That should be simple enough…right?

Then a rather strange yet frightening man walked up to him with an attractive young girl in tow. His appearance was rather unique in a way; his face was painted in black and white and his blue hair was styled in horns, resembling a pharaoh's crown. He also possesses golden ear attachments along with a pharaoh-like beard to go along with it. A yellowish grin grew on his face, making him look sadistic.

"Oh, yes, but does it still possess a foot by any chance?" he asked, sounding intrigued.

Before Gin could answer, Kisuke suddenly popped up out of nowhere, jovial as ever and still waving around that damned fan.

"Can I see it as well?" he asked. "I'm sorry…I can't help but being interested."

"Is it in a rotting stage to the point where maggots were festering in it?" the girl piped up. The man turned to her with obvious fury, shooting a glare at her as the girl looked away meekly. "Please excuse me, Master Mayuri…"

"You know when to open your trap, you stupid girl!" Mayuri snapped. "Honestly, how could my own creation be so stupid!?"

"It won't happen again, sir…"

"Uh, allow me to explain, gentlemen," The pumpkin king cleared his throat, getting the scientists' attention. He really didn't want to see the poor girl being punished for no reason, after all. "There's actually no foot inside, but there is candy. Sometimes it's filled with small toys, such as these." He reached inside and pulled out the said toys, tiny trinkets of a small ball, two tiny vehicles, and a small duck.

"Small toys?!" a pair of child-like voices chorused, gaining attention from the attendees.

The owners were two small children, a redheaded boy and a brunette girl. Both of them wore matching white t-shirts with a logo saying "Urahara Candy Shop", but what distinguish them from each other was that the boy wore blue torn trousers whilst the girl wore a cute knee-length pink skirt with a polka-dot pattern. They could be no older than eleven or twelve.

"Do they bite?" the red-haired boy asked, looking excited as he jumps up on the bench.

"Do they snap?" the black-haired girl asked timidly, keeping herself contained.

"How about exploding when you looked into a sack?!"

"Or maybe they just jump out and scare little kids!" Yachiru piped out, jumping out of her hiding place and back to Kenpachi's side.

Momo watched the whole action from above while holding the light in position. She looked up to her employer with a huge smile before speaking.

"This Christmas thing sounds like a great idea, Mr. Mayor," she said.

The mayor nodded as he listened to the chattering amongst the townspeople down below. "It does sound kind of fun…I think we should try this out for once." He replied.

Gin was in a mess right now. Millions of outlandish theories and limited understanding on this Christmas was about to drive him to the edge. Teaching them about this Christmas thing was more than he bargained for. Nevertheless…he had to push onward.

"Please, please, not so fast!" he pleaded, trying to calm things down. "There's somethin' here that ya'll didn't grasp!"

As everyone calmed down, they talk amongst themselves on this topic. Gin gave a thought about the finale that he had saved.

_Well…might as well give 'em what they want…_

"What I'm about to tell ya about my discovery, I saved for last. It's better than the tree and present combined," he spoke as he walked down the stage. "The ruler of the Christmas land is a terrifyin' tyrant with a deep mighty voice…or, so I've heard."

Ichigo refrains himself from face-palming. Obviously, this guy's resources were quite limited. But everyone seems to be interested…so it seemed unfair to ruin their fun by revealing to them that their leader was a bone-headed idiot.

"And I've also heard that he's like a lobster, huge and red! And sets to a sledge, cartin' huge buldgin' sacks with his gigantic arms! Or, so, once again, I've heard."

The rag doll sighed, rolling his eyes as Gin continue to sprout out over-exaggerated "facts". Keigo seemed to be too interested in the nonsense, and as for Mizuiro…he just playing around with some strange device. What it is…Ichigo will never know. Since he had nothing better to do and jumping down to find his family would be a bad idea, he'll just listen to the end. Gin seems to be serious about this…sort of.

"And on a dark, winter night…underneath the light of the full moon, he flies into the fog like a vulture searchin' for a rotting corpse for his meal…"

With a dramatic pause, the audience stared with anticipation as the most sinister grin grew on Gin's lips. His eyes slowly opened to reveal blood-red eyes. Seeing them send ice-cold chills down Ichigo's spine, finding himself was unable to turn away from them. He had never seen Gin's eyes before, most of the time closed. It intrigued him…but at the same time frightens him. This man really lives up to his title…

"And they call him…Sandy Claws."

If Ichigo had his other arm back, he could truly smack his forehead right then and there. Who could live with such a lame name?! Sandy Claws?!? Come on! Then he turned to the audience below, and they were clapping like mad. Even Keigo was letting out wooing, like he was at one of those events where the human teenagers go and listen to loud music and beat each other silly.

Gin chuckled as everyone let out a series of applauses with cheers and whistles. Apparently, they seemed to enjoy the presentation. He walked back to the stage as the curtains close behind him.

_At least they're excited about it…_he thought, picking up a snow globe and shook it. _Still…they don't understand –they don't feel it- how special that town is._

"Oh, well…" he spoke, watching the small white flakes flutter around the white sculpture. Then he looked over to one of the boxes, laying eyes on one in particular.

"Hmmm…"

-

Ichigo managed to sneak out of the town hall without any of his stalkers spotting him. So much for sitting with the family…at least his sisters would enjoy the night. He'll just wait them out here.

"Where could they be?" he asked to himself.

As he looked around in the streets, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind.

"IIIII-CHIIIII…."

Bingo…

Ichigo automatically dodged and planted his foot on his father's behind, watching in satisfaction as the spazz-episodic quack fell face-flat on the cobblestone street. "You have improved in your dodging…my…wonderful son…" he heard him groan pathetically. T

he tangerine-haired rag doll let out a tch before looking over to see the rest of his family approaching.

"Hey, sorry for not sitting with you guys." He apologized, instantly softens at their presence. "So how do you girls like the presentation so far?"

Yuzu smiled brightly before replying to her older brother. "It was great! I never knew that it could be so much fun!"

"Eh, it's so-so…that fox-faced guy is a bit creepy though…" Yuzu said, shrugging.

Ichigo instantly grimace at the mention of "fox-faced guy".

"Tell me something that I don't know…" he muttered.

The brunette child noticed the change in her brother's voice. It sounded different from before, not sweet and nice. Just grumpy…knowing, almost as if he knew from personal experience. So being the curious child she was, Yuzu did one thing that goes naturally with her.

"Ichi-nii, do you know this man who gave out the presentation?" she asked innocently.

Just before her older brother could answer, her father miraculously recovers and was practically bounced up. Literally.

"WHAT AN INTERESTING THING TO ASK, MY DEAR DAUGHTER~! I WAS ABOUT TO ASK HIM ABOUT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH…"

Before he could even finish (or land on his "unsuspecting" son), Ichigo simply stepped out of the way and allow him to crash back into the ground. The teen sighed before turning to his sisters, who were staring at him intensely. His mother walked over to the goat-face's side, as he wails about his "injured brain" and how he'll develop some guy's disease early.

"_Everyone _knows him…he's Ichimaru Gin, the "Pumpkin King" of Halloween Town," he explained, putting an emphasis on the word "everyone". "He's the real head honcho around here, the Mayor's just for show."

"Do you like him?"

Ichigo almost flinch in surprise when Karin popped the forbidden question.

"Wha-what?!" He sputtered. Damn it, now how is he going to get out of this one?

"Do. You. Like. Him?" the dark-haired doll child repeated, saying each word as if they were separate sentences.

_They're probably not going to stop bothering me until I give them the truth._

"Actually, I…"

"Hey, Berry-Head!" a grating but yet bratty voice called out, completely cutting him off from what he was about to say.

Ichigo looked up and saw the redheaded boy from the meeting, one of Urahara's employees and creations.

"Jinta…" he spoke, instantly recognizing the said boy.

Jinta, looking sour as ever, walked over with some strange item in hand. Ichigo saw that it was one of those "presents" that Gin tried to explain about during the meeting. While the other presents were wrapped in "bright colored paper" like Gin said; this one for some odd reason was different. This one Jinta was holding was red, almost close to crimson, just like the silver-haired man's eyes. It lacks a cube-like shape, instead possessing a rectangular form. It was topped off with a black bow with the ribbon curled up elegantly.

He has heard of those twin bratty witches' opinions about these things, but he couldn't help but admire the beauty of it. He almost didn't have the heart to open it.

"Here, take it." He heard Jinta spoke, practically shoving the box into his hand and bringing his mind back to the ground. "It's from Pumpkin Fox-Face."

A frown immediately appeared on Ichigo's face when he heard the "pet name" from the child's mouth.

"Look, I don't want anything from the bastard, ok?" he said, politely handing the box back to Jinta. "So, can you tell him to leave me alone already?" If he could help it, he wanted to avoid using colorful language around his sisters. _IF _he could help it, that is. But what he didn't expect from the boy was a deeper scowl than his and having the package shoved back into his hand.

"Well, Ichimaru said that he had pictures of me beating up Ururu and that he'll send 'em to the boss if I don't give this to ya!" then without another word, Jinta ran off to find his employer and his party. Ichigo blinked while staring at the package in disbelief.

Great…now what will he do now?

-

This is one of the longest chapters that I've written in this story so far…I hope everyone enjoyed it!

-

--

**Bad Day Dream Omake**

**Presents…**

**-How Ichimaru Gin got the automobile-go-cart thingy and got out of Christmas town-**

**Warning: This omake may contain a case of OOC (Out of Character)**

"Now…how do I get outta here?"

That was the main question that boggles Gin's mind. He had no idea how to get back to the same way he came before, not to mention hauling this sack full of his precious souvenirs would break his back. As he pace around in thought, ideas form in his mind.

_Maybe…I can get on one of those board thingies, gather up some of those waddling birds, tie them to that board thing and make them drag us…_

Then he looked over to the said birds and saw how slow they were when they waddle.

_Hmmm…nope, bad idea. Uhh…I know! No, wait…that sack would crush that reign-creature instantly. _

He let out a sigh as he plopped down on the ground, despite the cold on his ass. "This is gonna be hard," he said to himself. "It'll take days for me to get out of here!"

VRROOOMMM!

The pumpkin king nearly jumped at the strange noise, which resembled a dragon's roar. He searched for the source, and found a strange vehicle of some sort being parked by one of the town's creatures. Gin waited for the creature to go inside of the house (of whatever purpose that he is not sure of) before throwing the sack over his shoulder and crept in his usual spider-like grace towards it.

He examined the automobile…go-cart…thingy, seeing if it's durable and if it can withstand the weight of this sack. But seeing how limited time he had, Gin made up his mind.

"I think the person in question will understand the circumstances!" he said in a cheerful tone.

Before he knew it, he placed the sack on his "newly obtained" transport before getting on and switched the engine to life. Gin couldn't help but laugh with joy as the machine roared with life. "Alrighty then!" he said, grabbing the handle bars and rode through the main town gate and out to the inky night.

"HALLOWEEN TOWN OR BUST!"

-Few minutes later-

A small white-haired boy walked out of the shop, humming a small tune before approaching nothing but mere air. He blankly stared at the empty space where he used to park his transport, completely at loss on what had happened.

"…Who the Hell took my snow mobile?!"


	10. Chapter 10: Not only a river

Beta'ed by Fall, many thanks to ya!

_**Fifteen minutes before Jinta's departure**__…_

"_Aw, man! Now where did they go?" the redheaded boy groaned as he looked through the crowd. _

Damn it, if only Boss would create me a bit taller! _He inwardly cursed. _Having a child's body is a pain in the butt!

_Just when he was about to head out of the building, Jinta was yanked and dragged backstage. His mouth was clamped shut by a cold, clammy hand. He tried to wrestle himself out of the offender's grip but it was to no avail. His thoughts started to turn for the worst, until he heard his "kidnapper" speak. The voice was familiar as it whispered behind him:_

"_Calm down, Jinta, it's me!" _

_That voice that could send ice-cold shivers down anyone's spine. _

_Growling, Jinta spun around and glared at the pumpkin king with child-like rage. "It's you! That No-good Fox-faced Bastard!" he yelled, pointing a finger at Gin._

_Gin frowned at the "child's" behavior before crossing his arms over his chest. _

"_Well, that's not very nice," he said, sounding offended, though to Jinta's ears, it sounded like he was mocking him. "Didn't yur Guardian teach ya any manners?"_

_Jinta let out a "tch" as he crossed his skinny arms over his chest. "Manners are for wussies, I don't have time for them!"Then a wide grin grew on his face as he thrusts a thumb towards himself. "Besides, I'm aiming for a place among the baseball leagues!"_

_If it wasn't for his iron dignity, Gin would have almost smacked his forehead. "What a pipe dream…" he muttered._

"_So, what do you want with me, Ichimaru?" the "boy" asked in a demanding yet serious tone. "I thought you were only after that Berry-head."_

"_Well, actually, I am, thank you for bringin' that up!" then Gin walked over and picked out one of the "presents" that he told the townspeople about, before holding it out to him. "I want ya to deliver this to Ichigo and say that it was from me. Got it?"_

_A red brow was raised as Jinta stared at the package before turning to Gin, looking suspicious._

"_And if I don't?" he questioned, slightly afraid on what the answer will be._

_His fears were proven when Gin suddenly opened his eyes, revealing menacing crimson…it was like staring into twin pools of freshly spilled blood. Jinta felt a lump forming in his throat; he could gulp slightly. It was rare for Gin to open his eyes, so it could not have been a good thing for Jinta when this was the second time that night that he saw them open. The fact that he had the "pleasure" of seeing them up close and personal did nothing to ease out his nerves. He could have sworn that he felt something wetting in his pants. _

"_Then I'll show Urahara the pictures of the times where you bullied that poor girl," then a grin grew on his lips, making Jinta flinch. "We don't want __**that **__now, do we?"_

Present time…

-Ichigo's room-

Ichigo frown harder as he glared at the package sitting not too far from him.

That idiot fox-faced bone-headed bastard…how could he stoop so low as to go as far as to use a kid to do his dirty work? Well, Jinta's not human…or a kid…but that was beside the point. That guy had to get it through his thick skull and take a hint that he hated him! What would it take to show him that?

"Well, aren't you going to open it?"

Ichigo almost jumped when he heard Karin's voice by the doorway. He let out a frustrated sigh as he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart down. "Ah, geez, Karin, don't scare me like that!" he told her. Then he turned to her with a questioning glance, wondering if he heard right. "So, what did you say?"

"I said, aren't you going to open it?" Karin repeated, pointing at the said present.

Ichigo stared at the box before releasing a "tch" sound before reaching over to his covered stump.

"Like Hell, I would open it." He grumbled. "It could be something stupid or perverted…"

Karin stared at him for a while, not quite believing what her brother told her. "How would you know?" she asked.

"I-I just do…" it sounded unconvincing, even to his own ears.

"Just open it! It could be something nice."

Knowing that she had a point, Ichigo gave in and begrudgingly pulled the box towards him.

_This better not be something stupid, like lingerie or those shaky things that those humans like to stick themselves into…_

With a deep breath, he opens the box, and what sat in it stirred much surprise and shock in him.

There inside was his arm, with a black ribbon wrapped delicately around its wrist. It moved on its own and wave at Ichigo, almost as if it is happy to see him again.

"It couldn't be…" he spoke in disbelief.

Gin's house…

"I hope he likes it…" the silver-haired man said to Shinso, as he sets up the stringed lights around his observation room. "It says in one of the books that a loved one would be happy if he or she was given one of those present things." His usual smile was replaced by a small sad one as he turned to his pet ghost fox.

"But…there's no way that he'll ever return my feelins', won't he, boy?' he asked.

Shinso let out a comforting yip as he floated to Gin and licked his face where an unusual kind smile appeared.

"Thanks, Shinso…I needed that." Then he turned to his sack of souvenirs in the corner.

He had learnt while setting up the presentation in the town hall, that white stuff he had brought back suddenly turned into water, soaking through the bag. It was an unusual discovery indeed; he had no idea that water and this white stuff from Christmas Town were somehow connected. But enough of that; it wasn't what he was interested in right now.

Rummaging through the bag, Gin gently pulled out one of those plants that he saw a couple kissing underneath. When he looked up that it was known as "mistletoe". It was only a mere bundle of leaves and a few white berries and yet it was said to be customary of Christmas cheer for a couple to kiss underneath it. Strangely, it was also known as a "vampire plant" for some reason. He had no idea why though…

He gently twirled the plant between his lean fingers as he sat down on a nearby chair. The thought of him and Ichigo, standing underneath this small plant and kissing passionately…it really excites him a lot. He could almost feel the softness of those beautiful lips; could almost map the cavern of that warm mouth, his tongue wrapping around the other's as they playfully fight for dominance. Then Gin began to feel an uncomfortable tightness in his pants. He looked down and sighed in frustration.

"I really am quite desperate…"

Next day…

"Maybe he isn't the type of person you think he is," Masaki spoke as she mends her son's arm. Her usually kind voice had a scolding tone in it. "Though despite what you may think of him, I don't see why you couldn't tell us the truth earlier."

Ichigo turned to his mother, his face fallen in guilt and sadness.

"I'm sorry, Mom..." he said, watching her stitch his arm back together. "But he was so annoying…and wouldn't leave me alone; I didn't want to worry you, so I kept it a secret."

Masaki tsked as she continues to sew. "Oh, dilly-dally, shilly-shally, you kept it a secret because you think you might like him a little, right?" she replied, with a smile.

If Ichigo weren't good at lying still on the operating table, he would have jumped out in shock.

What? Liked him? He's a perverted jerk and-and a stalker!" he protested. "How could I like a guy like him?"

"Maybe it's because he's not like the others?"

Ichigo was about to counter with something else but gave up and relaxed on the table, pouting childishly. The laboratory doors creaked open, as the twins entered into the room. The dark-haired twin saw her older brother on the table, getting his formerly detached arm re-attached.

"Ah, so that's how you get yourself fixed if you fell apart!" Karin exclaimed. She was looking strangely amused at this as Yuzu stared in curiosity.

"Does this happen all the time, Ichi-nii?" she asked.

"Well, more or less…" Lying in a state like this in front of his sisters was so not cool for him.

"Anyway, Ichigo…" Masaki spoke, glancing at the black bow on his wrist before making a knot on the last stitch. "What will you give to Gin? For kindly returning your arm, I mean."

A pregnant pause filled the air, both girls stared at their older brothers as their mother snip the extra string away. Ichigo stared at his newly re-attached arm, moving it a little and flexing it. Almost as if making sure that it was not stiff.

"I'll think of something…" he said, gingerly sitting up from the table. Then he turned to his mother with a genuine smile. "And don't worry, it won't be violent."

The rag doll woman returned a smile before placing a kiss on his forehead. "That's good to hear, sweetheart." Then she stood up and ushered the twins out of the lab, giving him the peace and quiet that he needed to think.

Ichigo sat on the table, staring at his now complete arm while pondering over his thoughts on Gin.

_What if Mom's right? _He asked himself; he absentmindedly trails his finger over the smooth black silk. _What if Gin…is really not like them? _

Then he shook his head at that thought.

_Ah, Hell no! He's __**DEFINITELY **__like them! He only wanted me for my looks and for sex, and he'll toss me aside when he's done with me. But…then again…even if it was a dirty move for him to take it in the first place, he did give me my arm back... _

_Hold on…this is starting to sound like one of those butchering novels about sparkling zombies and stalking girls (1) or one of those melodramatic opera soap stuff. God, I hate those things. _

Ichigo blew his orange bangs up in frustration as he swung his legs over to the tableside.

"Well, in any case…at least my arm is now complete again (2)…thanks to him."

Gin whistled cheerfully down the cobblestone street with a black satchel in hand. This was a bright afternoon for him. And it wasn't because he was going to borrow some of the best equipment from the most qualified doctor he knew but because, in doing so, he had a chance to see Ichigo.

Of course the afternoon would be brighter if Ichigo, by some slim chance, did not persist in ignoring him or trying to kill him.

But now wasn't not the time to think about the cons. Just the pros: knowing where Ichigo lived and seeing Ichigo! Those are enough for him.

Gin walked along the pavement trail leading to the family porch before straightening up his bow-tie.

"I hope somebody's home…" he said to himself before reaching up to the doorbell.

"Alright, my darling daughters, this is your second day of your newly created lives and I have decided that today, you'll be learning some skills from your wonderfully awesome daddy!"

Isshin stuck a pose in front of his "daughters", one that would make the dead King of Rock and Roll jealous. Karin was unimpressed by his performance whilst Yuzu stared on with interest.

"So, what are we going to learn?" the dark-haired rag doll asked, wondering if she's going to regret asking the question.

She got her answer when her "father" grin his all-too familiar grin and he chuckled. Not the conventional "evil scientist" chuckle (she couldn't picture him being like that), this was her father's own brand of crazy laughter. An unfortunate lesson that she had learnt during her short life was that this marked the beginning of another one of his episodes.

If only she kept that helmet thing in her room, so that she could take it with her every time Goat-Face brings her and Yuzu to these "lessons in life".

Oh, well, what could be worse?

"You girls will learn…HOW TO PULL OUT DADDY'S BRAIN WITHOUT BREAKING IT!"

Yup, this was worse. Reaching for the object closest to her on the table and threw at her father and creator's head without a hint of remorse, watching the doctor fell to the ground on impact and having his head pop out to reveal the pinkish-grey matter that is pathetically known as his cranial organ. Yuzu looked over to her sister and gave her a disapproved glare.

"That's not very nice, Karin-chan!" she scolded.

"He was asking for it!" Karin countered. "And besides, shouldn't we be learning something like, I don't know, how to interact with people or something?"

"Well, that's…"

Then a sound that resembling a church bell cut her off, ringing throughout the house.

"Someone's at the door…" Isshin groaned as he sat up, flipping his "head lid" down. "Ugh…better go and…"

"I got it!" he heard Ichigo's voice say, as he ran down the stairs.

Isshin smiled fondly at his son, despite the pain that he was in.

"That's my boy…owie…"

The doorbell rang again as Ichigo headed for the front door.

"Alright, alright already!" he said, reaching for the knob. "You don't have to kill the door…"

As he opened the door, his face instantly fell when he saw the last face that he wanted to see.

"Oh, it's you, Gin."

Gin wasn't surprised at the grumpy and cold tone in the greeting, his smile never faltering. At least he got to see Ichigo's face first.

"Well, good afternoon to ya, Ichigo!" he greeted. "How are ya on this fine day?"

"Great until you show up, if this is another one of your schemes for me to go out with you, I'll…"

"Actually, I'm just here to borrow a few things from yur father," Gin cuts him off, not wanting to have a misunderstanding between them. Though, performing one of his usual schemes sounded a bit tempting…but not right now.

"So, is he busy?" he asked.

Ichigo shook his head, while at the same time wondering if it was a good idea to let his stalker in.

"He's in the lab, teaching the twins something," he responded. "I don't know what, but I think it might do them good if you're around to distract him."

_Wait…WHAT! Did I just say that?_

"So, I can come in?" by the way the silver-haired man sounded, he seemed hopeful.

The carrot-top rag doll shrugged as he opens the door wider, stepping out of the way.

"I guess…"

_Like inviting the wolf into the house…he better not do something funny._

Gin couldn't express how happy he was, being lead through the mansion by his object of affection to the doctor's lab. Surprisingly, the inside of the house somehow resembled a huge maze. It was in contrast to how "simplistic" it looked on the outside. Even the occupants, like Ichigo himself, found themselves a bit lost at times. The interior was lost on Gin but he reasoned that that wasn't such a bad thing, if anything it meant that he could spend some quality time with Ichigo.

"Maybe it's down there…" he heard Ichigo mumble to himself as they walked down the hallway.

_I gotta say somethin' here…_Gin thought to himself. _This is a rare opportunity, after all._

As he stared at Ichigo's back, thinking on what topics that he would bring up without getting himself hurt, his attention lingered down to the latter's re-attached right arm…and the black ribbon that was still tied around his wrist.

"I…see that ya haven't removed it yet." He finally spoke up. "That ribbon, I mean."

If Gin observation skills were anything less than adequate, he'd have missed the slight movement through the doll's being. As it was, his observation skills were exceptional; Ichigo had just flinched.

"Well, it's because I can't untie the damned thing," Ichigo responded, trying to sound like his grumpy usual self. "Did you have to go and make it so tight?"

"But I didn't."

Ichigo stopped in his tracks, before looking over his shoulder confused.

"Huh?" was all he could say.

"I didn't want yur wrist to be numb, so I just made it a bit loose," Gin explained to him. Then a smile appeared on his face. Not his usual creepy one, but a genuine kind smile. "And besides, it looks kinda pretty on ya."

Ichigo felt a strange and uncomfortable sonic boom ricochet through his chest, and heat rising up to his cheeks. He turned away quickly so that Gin wouldn't see his face red. He tried to speak out a response, hoping his voice wouldn't break.

"Uh…Wha-whatever," he responded, hoping that the latter wouldn't notice.

_Stupid Gin…making me feel embarrassed for stupid reasons that don't exist! If he asks why my face was red, I'm going to kick him in his crotch and throw him out of the house!_

"Oh, and by the way…you've mentioned "twins"," Gin spoke. "Are they the new creations of yur father? I saw 'em with yur family at the meetin' one time, and you weren't sittin' with 'em."

Ichigo mentally sighed with relief at the fact that Gin didn't notice his embarrassment. "Yeah…I sat somewhere else; didn't like being cramped up."

_And I was being groped by those bastards… _he mentally added.

"Anyway, we should get going, before my Dad does something stupid…" Ichigo said as he was about to proceed walking. But he stopped when he felt his hand being grabbed gently and firmly at the same time. Almost with reluctance, Ichigo looked over to see Gin, with his eyes _opened._

Only they weren't crimson this time. They were light blue. And the strangest thing is that, they didn't strike the same ice-cold sensation; instead, all Ichigo could feel was…warmth. And all he could do right now was to stare into those eyes.

_Since…since when do they change color? _He thought with bafflement.

He had never heard of anything like this…does anyone know about what Gin's eyes could do?

"Ichigo…" he heard him spoke.

His tone was soft and almost gentle, not like his usual creepy cheerful one. Then he started to move towards Ichigo, making the latter step back. They both continue the dance until it was cut short when the carrot-top felt his back hitting against the wall. Gin had no hesitation, making his move by bracing his arms over Ichigo's head; their faces were almost close enough to feel each other's breath as they stared into each other's eyes.

Ichigo had no idea what to do now…usually, in the past, he'd fend Gin off with either a punch, a threat, or a knee to the groin every time he came within a few inches to his personal space. But now…he couldn't do a damn thing. Could it be like what his mother said was true? Did he like…

"Ichigo…" Gin spoke again. "Why can't ya just see that I love ya?"

Ichigo was at loss for words when he heard him; he opened his mouth slightly to say something, but nothing came out. Gin, on the other hand, was a bit surprised at the sudden silence from the younger man. Even more surprising was the lack of physical violence. But nevertheless, he took it as a good sign.

_I guess…if I were to ever make a move, now would be as good a chance as any…_

Slowly, but very carefully to not make any sudden movements, Gin inched his face closer to Ichigo's, until he can practically feel the soft rosy lips against his…

_So far, so good…_he thought to himself. That was until he felt Ichigo's hands on his chest, pushing him away. Gin stared at him in complete confusion until he realized a faint redness on the boy's cheeks. He followed Ichigo's line of sight and found their intruder.

Dr. Kurosaki.

"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything!" the man said in his usual jovial self. "I got worried when my daddy instincts were telling me that Ichigo's chastity might be in danger, so I have my lovely wife take over the girls' home education and see what was taking my wonderful son so long."

"You-you weren't interrupting anything!" Ichigo sputtered, hoping that his father didn't catch him and Gin in such an awkward position. "I was just trying to find you and the lab…but we got lost and…"

"No need for an explanation, I'll take it from here, Ichigo," then Isshin turned to Gin, his smile never leaving his face. "It's over this way, Sir." He said, gesturing him to follow.

"Yes…" Gin responded, sounding a bit disappointed.

He stole a glance over to Ichigo before following his father. As soon as they turned a corner, the rag doll sighed as he leaned against the wall, sliding down to the floor. His heart was beating too fast for his taste, and he could have sworn that his face was burning. That was way too close for comfort…he couldn't believe that he would allow himself to let Gin kiss him. He almost _expected_ Gin to kiss him.

Ichigo absentmindedly reached up and lightly touched his lips, and then remembered how close their faces were. Up close…Gin was surprisingly good looking.

Realizing that thought made him blush harder and placed his hand over his eyes as he groaned.

"What the Hell was wrong with me?" he muttered.

He hated feeling like this…he had never felt so lost and confused.

Author's Note(s)

Butchering novels about the sparkling undead – To the Stephanie Meyer/Twilight fans, please don't kill me for this…but this is enough for any real vampire or any supernatural to laugh over.

"…my arm is now complete again…" – refers to Tim Burton's version of Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

**Bad Day Dream Omake presents…**

**Grimmjow vs. Nnoitra– What they do when not beating each other to a bloody pulp and/or chasing Ichigo**

"All right…cut it, Garfield."

Grimmjow glared at the reaper across from the table. The room they're sitting in was dark, and the only source of light was a pendant light hanging over their heads. Well, Grimmjow's that is…Nnoitra's freakishly tall enough to reach the light.

"I'm not that lazy fat cat, you sorry excuse for a lamp post!" he snapped as he reached over across the table to grab…a deck of cards. "Nor am I orange."

He splits the deck in half before shuffling them together and then repeating the same procedure. The cat man returns the deck back to Nnoitra and watched the man gave him his share of cards before taking his own and place the remaining deck on the middle of the table.

"So, what are the chances of that bone-dick head gettin' Berry?" Nnoitra asked, looking at his cards before throwing a few chips on the table.

"Don't know, Ichigo seems to be putting up a pretty good fight," Grimmjow replied, throwing a few of his own chips on the table as he looked through his cards. "Though Ichimaru doesn't seem to be showing some signs of backing out. So, it might be zero to none."

"Fuck, we're not making good progress either…" The tall reaper commented as he discarded one card before replacing it with a new one from the deck.

"No kidding…I have this idea of luring Ichigo to the graveyard and fuck him to the ground," the blue-haired cat said. "I don't even care shit about "respecting for the dead". We have enough dead people in this town!"

"Mine is grabbing Ichi to a dark alley if it's dark out. Gagging and tying him up, the very thought of it always turns me on."

Grimmjow looked over to him with a glare.

"You dumb shit-head!" he snapped, pounding the table with his fist. "That's so cliché! I mean, Ichigo's smart enough to not go wandering around after dark. He knows this town like the back of his hand."

Nnoitra glared back at him through his only eye, and leaned on the table.

"Oh, and what kind of original plans do _you _have?" he asked in a challenging tone.

He saw a familiar smirk on Grimmjow's face, almost as if saying "I know something that you don't know".

"Two words, my friend…dark chocolate."

A dark eyebrow was raised as the Reaper stared at him. "Ya not gonna drug him or anything, right?"

"No!" Grimmjow responded, sounded offended. "Got a weak spot for sweets, mainly chocolate!"

"And how the Hell do ya know that?"

"I…I just know ok!"

Nnoitra couldn't help but stare at him suspiciously as he watched Grimmjow discard a card before replacing it from the deck. "Ya were stalking him, aren't ya?" he asked.

Grimmjow just shrugged, paying his attention all on his hand. "Being a cat has its advantages…" he muttered before grins his usual feral grin. "Alright! Read 'em and weep, Jiruga!" The blue-haired cat man slam his cards down and spread them out, showing his hand to Nnoitra.

"Two pairs of Jacks and Kings!" he crowed triumphantly, feeling smug that he might win this round.

But what he didn't expect was that Nnoitra's sly smirk as he lay down his hand.

"What a coincidence, me too…" then he spread them out to show them to Grimmjow, who was utterly confused. His hand reveals two Queen Cards. "A pair of queens…" then he moved to reveal…another pair of Queens. "And another pair of queens. Looks like Lady Luck's in love with me."

Grimmjow stared at Nnoitra's hand in anger and confusion before standing up as he slammed his hands on the table, causing the chips to shake a bit.

"BASTARD!" he yelled. "You cheated!"

"Sticks and stones…" Nnoitra responded, before muttering, "Garfield."

"Do NOT call me Garfield! And you don't even like women!"

This is the longest omake I ever made…

Dilly Dally, Shilly Shally: From Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, quoted by Tifa, and Aerith in near climax


	11. Chapter 11: Gift Bearing

Many thanks to my Beta, Fall

-

Gin sighed for an umpteenth time as he followed the Kurosaki patriarch through the household. He was so close…so _very _close of getting at least one kiss from his beloved Ragberry. And his father had to walk in and ruin his chances! If it wasn't for the respect he had for the man he would have killed him.

"I know about it…" he heard the other man spoke, breaking his train of thought.

"I'm sorry?" Gin responded, sounded confused.

"I know about your feelings for my son, Ichigo," Isshin explained, but kept on walking. He sounded so unlike his usual self. There was no hyper activity in his voice, no insane chatter. He was serious. "Believe me…even though it's not my business to pry on his personal life, it was clear as day that you were chasing after him."

He briefly looked over his shoulder with a small smile.

"It's amazing, really. When compared to the others you've been hacking at it for so long. It's been six years no, hasn't it?" he commented.

"Well, I was never the type to give up so easily…" Gin admitted, feeling a bit proud but at the same time wondered what this man was getting at.

"Would you mind doing me a favor, though?" Isshin asked as he stopped walking.

The pumpkin king followed suit and stared at the doctor's back in curiosity and confusion. "And that is…?" he wondered, almost dreading the worst possibility as a numb gnawing sensation was growing in the pit of his stomach.

"Would you mind to back off from Ichigo a bit?"

Gin opened his eyes in shock at this. Surely, he was joking, right? This was probably another one of his antics, what with being the village idiot and all. That must be it! It was the only explanation.

"Don't get me wrong, Gin," Isshin continue to speak, still very serious. Gone was his idiotic hyper self…replaced by a man who doesn't want to be taken very lightly. "I know that you held genuine feelings for my son, I really do. But please understand, Ichigo…"

"Yur…yur sayin' that ya don't want me to see 'im, do you?" The silver-haired man asked the doctor.

He wanted so badly to defy the doctor and continue pursuing Ichigo's heart, but Gin knew better than to mess with this man. He often heard stories about him being a martial artist despite having a doctor status (a fact that he always heard Ichigo complained whenever his father tried to ambush him unexpectedly). Most of the time, he heard that he used to be some sort of assassin working for Aizen back in the day. But he had no idea if they're true or not. He always took it a face value: rumors that people around town used to amuse themselves in lack of better things to do.

Isshin shook his head, his expression was never changing as he was about to respond to the latter, "Not, that wasn't what I was saying…I'm saying that Ichigo has been through a lot since he's met you. And please don't ask me what…it's better if you hear it from him. If he can tell you, that is."

Gin looked down as he let those words sink through his brain, while his mind was screaming at him to not give in, since it was not really like him.

"I see…" he said, sounding almost defeated.

"All I want for my son is to be happy with his chosen partner, and you definitely would be that partner" Isshin reassured him, giving him one of his genuine smiles. "You just had to be patient a little bit more."

His words spark a bit of hope inside Gin's chest; he looked up to him and nodded in understanding.

"I've done so for a while now…think I can handle it," He said.

"Ok. Now, putting that aside, what do you need me for?" Isshin asked, now completely back to his usual jovial self.

Surprised at the quick switch, Gin recollected himself before remembering what he had come here for.

"Um, well, I'm actually here to borrow some equipment for experimentation," he said. "I need to find some logical ways to explain this Christmas thing."

Grinning widely, like he used to, Isshin walked over and gave Gin a hearty pat on the back. "So glad that you turned to me instead of that freak Kurotsuchi or that pink-haired sissy," he replied cheerfully. "You know what they say about cats and curiosity, right?"

"I know…"

Gin allowed himself to be lead by the crazy doctor; letting all his crazed out ranting enter one ear and out of the other. At the same time, he wondered if that moment back there was the true face of Kurosaki Isshin.

Either way…he had to keep face in order to escape this spaz. At least seeing Ichigo was worth it…

-

"Shinso, I'm home!"

The ghost fox awoke from his nap; his pointed ears were prick up at the sound of his master's voice.

Gin walked up the spiral stairs to his observation room before placing his satchel down on the nearby table. It had been long (not to mention annoying) encounter with the obviously insane doctor who won't shut up about how cute his "daughters" were (only to be pacified by the dark-haired twin with what looked like a stick that the humans use in one of those ball games they played), but it was worth it to borrow some of the equipment he needed.

He took out a microscope and a rack of beakers before getting to work.

Gin was going to start small, such as examining the one of the tiny red fruits from the sharp-edged leafy plant known as "holly". It was simple at first; all he had to do was place the small fruit underneath the microscope to examine it. But as he zoomed in closer, the fruit shattered upon impact between the lens and the glass, leaving behind a small juicy mess and broken glass. It made the first experiment more or less a failure.

But that didn't stop him…he performed tests on the red-and-white hook candy, boiling it in water at an extreme heats, but all he ended up with something that resembled a white limp noodle. Hell, he even tried to imitate that white flake thing from just a sheet of paper and a pair of scissors and somehow made a spider! But Ichimaru Gin was not a type of man to give up on what he had started. So he continued on the experimentation.

As day turns into night, the pumpkin king took one of the glass spheres from the tree before walking over to a beaker full of boiling water. He took the glass sphere and crushed it in his hands over the boiling beaker. Gin let the crushed remains fall into the liquid before dusting the remains off of his hands; it was a wonder that he did not receive any wounds. He watched with fascination as the clear liquid turned into brilliant green as it continues to boils.

"What an interestin' reaction…" Gin mused, as he stared at the beautiful display. "But what does it mean?"

_And how will this help me to get Ichigo?_

Nearby, Shinso yawned before snuggling in a more comfortable position in his bed. This is going to be a long night for both of them….

--

Gin was not the only one who was working hard to the bone (no pun intended). Inside the Kurosaki household, Ichigo poured some of his homemade persimmon sake into a beautiful wine bottle before adding in some powder-like substance and seal it with a cork. Ichigo was told by Rangiku one time that he was a big fan of persimmon, mostly dried ones. But he was only half-listening to her that time. He then placed the bottle inside a basket when he knew that he was done.

Ichigo sighed in frustration as he stared at his project.

He had absolutely no idea what possess him to make a bottle of homemade sake for Gin. Even after that scene from afternoon when he…

Ichigo shook his head when he remembered that incident, feeling heat going back to his face.

_No…this is just a way to thank him for giving back my arm, _he thought to himself in denial. _I absolutely have __**NO **__feelings for him whatsoever! I'm just giving him this bottle of booze as an acquaintance! _

"_Why can't ya just see that I love ya?"_

Remembering those words made Ichigo blush harder while at the same time rethink over his thoughts of Gin.

_Maybe…maybe he's not like them…and __**him**__…_

Ichigo sighed before walking over to his spider-like sewing machine before attaching the black silk thread to the basket and pulled it to his window slowly. When he got to the window, Ichigo opened it before letting it down gently. The orange-haired doll looked up and saw the blinking light in Gin's room from his. That meant he was still up.

Ichigo stared at the sight before getting up on the window sill. He spared the pumpkin king's house a glance one more time before he descended to the ground below and sighed again.

"Sure beats using the front door…" he said to himself, before leaping off of his window sill.

-

"Quiet night, isn't it, old friend?" The saxophone player asked as he looked up at the sky, seeing the moon nearly at its peak. "We haven't had one of those since Bone Daddy got himself cooped up in his house."

Jushiro nodded as he gently adjusts the cello. "Indeed, Shunsui…but with all this excitement over this Christmas thing, I doubt we'll ever get some peace and quiet for a while."

A petite young woman inside the cello adjusts her glasses before speaking up to Shunsui.

"Speaking of peace and quiet, has anyone seen Sentaro and Kiyone?" she asked.

The white-haired cellist looked around in the deserted streets of Halloween town; there wasn't a single soul in sight.

"I have no idea, Nanao…they would usually be here by now." He said.

Shunsui lifted his hat up a bit as he gave his friend his trademark smile. "Well, knowing them, they would be here riiiiight…"

"What the Hell are you doing here!? This is my shift tonight!"

"What the Hell are _YOU _doing here?!? You already have your turn last night!"

"Now…you're so lucky that you're the popular one, Jushiro-kun." Shunsui told the latter in a teasing tone.

Jushiro couldn't help but sigh as he hears footsteps from one street, along with a very heated argument as they approach. There were times when he wishes for them to get along at least once, was it too much to ask for? And sure enough, two figures appeared out of the darkness; a young teenage girl and a man who looked like in his late 20s running in a same speed as they continue to argue. Between them was an object on what looked like an accordion.

"I'm telling you, it's my turn to play the accordion, Sentaro! You had it last time!" the girl yelled at her companion, trying to pull the instrument away from him. Her dirty blond hair was in a boyish cut and her grey eyes were filled with childish anger.

"I was sick last time, Kiyone! It doesn't count!" Sentaro yelled as he pulled the accordion back. His appearance was a bit unique. Wrapped around his forehead and shoulders were white straps that was used as some sort of charm against evil spirits back from the Human Realm. No one knew how he obtained them, since he refused to talk about the incident.

Jushiro watched as the scene plays out before him. This was getting bad, if they were going to keep this up, they might damage their equipment. He had to say something here before the musical instrument broke.

"Pardon me, Sentaro, Kiyone…" he spoke up, causing the two to miraculously stop arguing and made them to turn their attention to him. "How about this? You two can share the accordion and then either one of you pick from either side."

The duo listened on as they let the words sink into their heads before giving their idol their full response.

"Yes, sir! We liked that idea!" they responded with complete enthusiasm.

Nanao watched with amusement before speaking up. "They learn to behave very quickly." She commented.

The rugged man just shrugged as he adjusted his saxophone.

"Well, there isn't much we can do about it, Nana-chan, but to…" Then suddenly he was cut off by Kiyone's scream.

"OH MY GOSH, LOOK!"

What they saw shock them. A figure fell out of the Kurosaki manor windows and landed on the pavement below.

--

He felt only slight pain at first, but that was because he was created as a doll. Ichigo slowly opened his eyes before gingerly lifted himself off of the ground with one hand. Oddly enough, he felt two of his limbs missing. He looked over and saw his left arm lying not too far from him, and looking back was his right leg hanging loosely off of him. Then he looked up and saw his opened window.

_I guess there's no turning back now…_Ichigo thought to himself. _But first things first…_

The rag doll reached over and grabbed his arm, whose hand was about to come undone from its stitching before rolling his pant sleeve up to remove the threading on his right leg. He then reached up to his ear and took out a sewing needle. Ichigo laced the needle with the spool of thread that he stashed in his pocket and went to work on himself.

He hated to admit it, but Ichigo was glad that he gotten those sewing lessons from his mother; especially since he had the tendency to accidently detach his limbs. So, mending himself together was no problem for him, the only drawback was that he is a sitting duck to those who are out to molest him whenever he was outside and broken. But the past lessons paid off of and the results were worth it.

When he finished the knot on his right leg, Ichigo placed the needle back behind his ear. He stood up and grabbed the basket before gingerly took small steps, wobbling a bit as he went down the stairs. The carrot-top rag doll placed on his scowl as he passed by the jazz band, who found a rather disturbing interest on observing him lately.

"So, going off and delivering a present to…" Shunsui was about to speak but was cut off by an angry "HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"

Jushiro chuckled to himself as Ichigo disappeared into the darkness of the streets, but knew where he was going.

"Denial is not only a river…" he commented before turning to his band mates. "How about we play something for those two? I have something in mind."

The flamboyant man smiled at his friend in response. "Lead the way then…"

Jushiro started to strum the strings on the cello, as Shunsui and the duo prepare to play.

_You know I can't smile without you…_

_I can't smile without you,_

_I can't laugh,_

_And I can't sing,_

_I'm findin' it hard to do anything…_

-

Gin was feverishly working on an equation on the chalkboard, or at least what looked like an "equation". After experiencing trial and error from his experimentations (mostly earned errors), he was now finding some sort of connection between Christmas and "Sandy Claws". But so far, he came up with more mind-boggling questions than answers. There was absolutely no way he could get answers out of this! Not to mention, his chances with Ichigo were now looking slimmer than ever.

_This Christmas thing is more than I can chew…_he thought. Then he heard a gurgling noise from his stomach.

"I skipped lunch today…." He said to himself. "Haven't eaten anythin' at all…I'm starvin'…"

Tap…! Tap…!

Gin heard the sound from the window behind him, he looked over and there he saw hanging outside was…

A basket with a wine bottle!

Feeling ecstatic, Gin wasted no time walking over to open the window and pulled the basket in, but not before looking down to see who the sender was. And sure enough, there stood his favorite rag doll with the familiar mop of orange. The silver-haired king couldn't help but blew a kiss to him, which made the latter look away, either out of being his usual self, or embarrassment.

Gin took the bottle out of the basket and removed the cork, before seeing a beautiful aura evaporating from the bottle as it slowly formed into a butterfly. The pumpkin king watched the display in amazement before watching it disappear, leaving behind a scent of…persimmon. It seemed like Ichigo must have like him, even if it was a little.

Then he saw a bit of writing on the bottle's body, in bit of cursive, saying, "For giving back my arm…thanks. Ichigo."

A thought of Ichigo giving him a "thank-you gift" not only delights him, but also the possibility of him having the same feelings excited Gin.

Gin looked out of the window but was a bit disappointed when he saw that the young teen was already gone. He let out a deep sigh before pulling back inside and shutting the window.

At least it was the thought that counted.

-

Ichigo ran out of the front gates before leaning against the wall and sliding down to the ground. His heart was beating so rapidly in his chest that he was worried that it might burst out of him. He only gave him that stupid bottle of booze, and that idiot just blew him a kiss. Then he felt embarrassed…he wasn't supposed to feel that way! He was just giving it as a thank you for giving his arm back!

"Damn it all…" he inwardly cursed, running his hand through his hair. "Damn it all to Hell and back!"

He hated that man…he was _supposed _to not like him, not even one bit! But yet…he felt…happy, when he saw him smile…

Then Ichigo shook his head in frustration.

_No…NO! He's a perverted stalker who's only after your ass, Ichigo! _He thought to himself. _A despicable jerk-off! LOATHSOME NO-GOOD BASTARD!!!!!_

While he was mentally denying the facts to himself, Ichigo spotted a small patch of dead daisies nearby. Without even thinking, he reached over and picked one before bringing it close to him. He remembered one of the stories that Goat Face had told him when he first met his mother back in the Human Realm. From what he could recall was that after seeing a few couples (but in his case "observing" them), he picked the petals off of a daisy to see if she was in love with him.

Or something along the lines, he couldn't really recall. Either way…he was in between a rock and a _very_ hard place.

_This is so stupid…but it'll do…_he reached up to one of the black petals and plucked it off of the stem.

"I like him…" he spoke softly before reaching up to another petal to pluck.

"I don't like him…"

Pluck…

"I like him…"

Pluck…

"I despise him…"

Pluck….

"I lik…"

But before he could finish, the flower suddenly started to shake for some reason. Then slowly, it transformed into that Christmas tree that was adored in those beautiful spheres and bright colored lights with a star on top. Ichigo was amazed at the beauty of it…maybe Gin felt the same thing when he went to that Christmas Town place. Wherever it was…

As he gazed at the display, the tiny Christmas tree suddenly set ablaze, leaving behind charred remains with nothing to spare from its intense flames.

And the only thing that Ichigo would do that night…was to stare in complete horror, not able to move, or to think what might happen to Gin in the future.

…_Gin…_

Featured song: Can't Smile without You by Barry Manilow

**Bad Day Dream Omake Presents…**

**Ichigo's Dilemma (from Chapter 10: Not only a River…) **

**A/N: This is a bit serious than the past omakes, but there will be a possibility of comedy. I think…maybe not.**

_He hated feeling like this…he had never felt so lost and confused._

-

Fifteen minutes after Dr. Kurosaki lead Gin away…

Ichigo sat still in the spot, not making any move to leave it. His mind was too wrapped up in confusion on what just happened. One moment he was just trying to find his way in the damned house with Gin, and then the next thing he knew that he was up against the wall, with the Fox-Face was about to kiss him! If that Goat-Face of his father weren't there, he had no idea what would happen next!

But then again…it would have been nice if it were just a bit longer…

A groan escaped from Ichigo's lips as he buried his face in his hands, feeling the hotter than usual warmth upon his palms.

_I don't like him…I don't like him…I don't like him…I hate him…I despise him! I loathe him with every fiber of my being! I will never like a jerk-wad like him! NEVER!_

"…Ichigo?"

Ichigo looked up to the source of the voice, and found his mother staring down at him with worry and concern.

"Mom…" he spoke.

"Are you ok?" she asked, offering a hand for him to grab. "You looked upset."

The tangerine-haired doll took his mother's hand and let her helped him up, while trying to thing some kind of excuse.

"I-I'm fine, it's just that I have some sort of stomachache back there," he fibbed, though it doesn't sound convincing to ears. Even to his mother's…

"Ichigo, what did I tell you?" she gently scolded. "No lying."

Ichigo sighed through his nose, as he gave his mother one of his fond smiles. "Yeah…sorry about that…"

Masaki observed the sad smile on her son's face, as the red tint on his cheeks slowly fade. It was obvious that something was troubling him, and this was different from the last time. She reached her hand out to him and gently stroked his orange locks.

"Sweetie, do you want to talk about it?" the last thing she wanted was her eldest child kept whatever he was feeling bottled up. Such a thing was not healthy for him.

Ichigo thought about telling her that nothing is wrong, but that would sound like another lie in order to not make her more worried than before.

"I…I have no idea, Mom…" he admitted. "I have no idea on what to do…what to think. My mind is out of whack whenever Gin is near me."

Masaki blinked at the mention of the town leader's name. "Ichimaru-san is here?" she asked.

"Yeah…and he almost kisses me. Then Goat-Face came by and took him to his lab, and after that I feel like I wanted him to…"

His mother gently placed a finger on his lips as she soothingly shushed him.

"There's no need to say more, Ichigo," she said. "I'm sure that you will understand soon…that's how it is when you're in love."

Ichigo resisted the urge to pout as he looked up to his mother with a slight scowl. "You know that I'm not in love with that jerk."

The rag doll woman couldn't help but laugh softly at her son's attempt to look tough and serious. Such a sweet and smart boy he is, she's sure that he'll get around…in time. "I know…" then she playfully tapped the tip of his nose with her fingertip. "Now take your time to think of something to give to Ichimaru-san. Something nice, like a gift basket or something."

"Oh, no, Mom…anything but _that_."

-

That is how Ichigo settles with giving Gin booze.


	12. Chapter 12: Something's up with Gin

Beta'd by my dear friend and pseudo sister, Emi

Dawn finally came as the skeleton rooster crowed at the approaching sun. Ichigo could feel the stinging rays upon his eyelids before lifting his head off of the wall. Ever since that vision…that horrifying premonition, he didn't have enough strength in his legs to go home. Sure the Pumpkin King was known as the most feared in Halloween Town, but what Ichigo saw that night really scared him, more so than Gin.

Somehow it was connected to that Christmas thing he was gushing on about.

Ichigo didn't want to admit it, not even to his own heart, but he was beginning to worry about Gin…

Unaware to him, a handful of people were nearby, crowding around the front gate, curious about Gin.

"Something's up with Bone Daddy," Shunsui commented. "All alone up there…locked away inside." Then he turned to the bassist, who was staring up in curiosity as well. "What do you think, my old friend?"

The pale-haired man shrugged as he faced the saxophone player. "I have no idea," he replied. "Ever since that talk about Christmas and all, I think it made him obsessed. I doubt we'll ever get his head back to the ground again."

Then he noticed a familiar ginger-haired cat woman walking up the street.

"He's still inside, right?" She asked, sounding worried. The only answer she got from the band leader was a sorrowful nod. Rangiku let out a heavy sigh as she cross her arms over her more than ample chest.

"That is so like him…" she said. "Never saying at least one word; that's what I hate about him." Then Rangiku looked up at the observation/study tower that her friend was always cooped up in, even way back when they were children. "Hope he hasn't killed himself over this…"

Everyone in town was as curious as they were, and amongst them ludicrous rumors started to buzz. Mainly those who were chasing after a certain doll; they were hoping that the Pumpkin King has died, one less competition with the thin man, the better chance with Ichigo. But one thing was true among all rumors…

Something's up with Gin…

Gin spent all night to the break of dawn, pacing back and forth in the tiny room; countless thoughts and theories are still gearing inside his skull. Christmas time was buzzing furiously inside of his head like a swarm of killer bees attacking a helpless nest of wasps. And he doubted that it would leave him alone…not when there are countless things that he doesn't grasp yet.

_Every time when I think I got it…it always slips through my fingers like an eel on its way to the butcher knife! _Gin thought.

"Somethin's there…I know it!" he said to himself. "But damn if I stop forgettin'…"

A frustrated groan escaped from his lips as he ran his hand through his silver hair, the same question ran through his mind over and over again. What does it mean? What does it mean? Then he turned his attention to the toys and dolls on a table. Some of the toys were preserved in jars, while others where cut open, leaving the white cotton sticking out of their chests.

Silly as it sounds, but something in his gut was telling him that there was some sort of secret that they held within them, a secret that is waiting to be cracked; perhaps maybe an answer to get Ichigo to love him. But so far after each dissection and taking apart, he found nothing.

_I know that they're just simple objects, nothing' more…nothin' less…_he pondered. _But it felt like that there's somethin' was hidden behind a door. Unfortunately I don't have the right key on me…_

Gin picked up a doll that wasn't mutilated yet and stared at it with a single red eye opened. It was simple, but in a way pretty. A cloth doll with orange yarn for hair…

Almost like Ichigo's, except he was more beautiful than this doll that he holds now.

_It might not be there…but there was somethin'. But what does it mean? What does it mean? _

"What does it mean? Hmmm…"

Gin threw the doll over his shoulder as he continued to think. The doll landed near Shinso, which awoke him suddenly from his sleep and stared at his master curiously, watching him skim through one of those Christmas books that he had collected.

"I've forgotten how many times I've read these books…" he mused softly to himself. "The stories…the rhymes…even the Christmas carols, I can't seem to get 'em outta my head." Gin sighed as he slammed the book shut. "Dang, my head's so full right now…it could explode at any minute."

He took a seat on the book-shelf ladder as he continues to ponder over this Christmas.

_But no matter much I've read through all of 'em, there's somethin' wrong…I don't know what but there's somethin' that I can't put my finger on. But what is it?_

As Gin thought and thought with all his might, he didn't notice Shinso floated up to him with an object in his mouth. He took it from the ghost fox's mouth and saw that it was his self-portrait where he's holding up a sinister-grinning pumpkin underneath the full moon. As he stared at his portrait, Gin slowly began to imagine himself wearing a red suit instead of his usual attire and the pumpkin was replaced by the present box. It was when it finally hit him. Maybe he was trying too hard to comprehend…maybe it wasn't as deep as he first thought.

"THAT'S IT!" Gin crowed as he jumped up enthusiastically. "The answer's right in front of me all along!"

_That is so simple, so clear…why haven't I noticed it before? It's just like the air around us, invisible but everywhere. Just because I can't see it, it doesn't mean that I can't believe it! _

Grinning in triumph, he suddenly thought of something else. Why do those guys get to spread all the good stuff while they have to be stuck with bumping in the night year after year? It was no wonder why that Ichigo was turned off by his advances! And it was a good thing that the pumpkin king had discovered Christmas Town…it was almost as if it was his destiny to find that place.

Gin turned to Shinso with his usual grin, making the ghost fox look up to him questioningly.

"Ya know, Shinso, this Christmas thing is not really tricky once ya finally figure it out," he said. "But I think it's a crime to leave up to them to have all that kind of fun, it should be for anyone!"

Then he walked over to his thin "Christmas tree" and yanked the stringed lights, causing the tree to spin and a few ornamental balls to fell out and break around the room. Shinso was left unharmed since he was nothing more than a specter.

"I could make one of those Christmas trees; Hell I could be that Sandy Claws guy!" Using the stringed lights as a lasso, he tied it to the electric chair by the corner. "I think handlin' this Christmas time would be a cake walk, and maybe I can improve it too…" then he opened his eyes as he turned to Shinso; they're burning red with twisted pleasure.

"…And it's exactly what _I'll _do!"

With that he switched on the chair, its surging electricity cause the lights to overheat and pop; the sparks flew out as Gin laughed sadistically. Unable to contain of his excitement, Gin went over to his window, slamming it open and was pleased to see the citizens before his house gates.

"EUREKA! I've got it!" he cried out as he looked down at the people. "This year, Christmas will be…

…OURS!"

The people down below cheered on with unbridled enthusiasm as Gin's voice echoed throughout the town. It seems that celebrating Christmas other than their respective holiday is what they need, different but fun at the same time. Unfortunately one of them was not thrilled. In fact, it filled him with dread. Ichigo stared up to the Pumpkin King with uneasiness before turning to the charred remains of the flower in his hand.

The burning reminder of his ominous premonition…

"…I have to tell him."

**That's right, you guys, I...am...BACK! And officially on summer break after finishing up some finals (and waiting for the results for next week) but it's all good. So that means I will be spending my time on the stories that are need to be continued and wrapped up. So thank you all for your support! **

**And now...  
**

**Bad Day Dream Omake presents…**

*****light and Vampire**

**Author's note: this omake was meant to be a parody. Not meant for those who love sparkly vampires who are emo and twisted interspecies relationship that seems abusive was considered romantic. If you find this omake offensive, please feel free to ignore this and wait patiently for the next chapter. I do not own the ***light series; I have read only a few pages…**

Momo was just minding her own business, taking a break from the office and strolling down the streets of Halloween Town. Along the way, she spotted a familiar figure sitting in one of those outside tables of a café, shielded by a huge umbrella as he reads a book. Leaning near his chair was his usual black umbrella.

"Good afternoon, Cifer-san!" she greeted the aloof vampire who barely spared her a glance and continued on reading on his very thick novel. Momo stifled a sigh before taking a peek on the cover out of curiosity. Upon the cover were two pale hands holding a blood-red apple, holding it out as if in offering.

"I don't mean to pry but is that ***light?" the witch asked.

Ulquiorra shifted his green eyes over to the young girl, still holding the book up. "Yes, you have heard of this book?" he asked.

The dark-haired girl nodded. "Uh-huh, from what I've heard it was a love story between a vampire and a human girl," she said. "I never thought of you reading romantic novels."

The pale man turned back to the book before flipping a page over.

"Mayor Aizen gave this to me, saying that it might do well for me." He admitted. His tone was emotionless as ever.

"Oh, how was it?"

To her surprise, Ulquiorra stood up from his seat as he closed his book. He took his umbrella and opened it before walking over to the nearby trashcan and casually threw the book in.

"Trash." He simply said before walking off.

…Again…please do not kill me for this.


	13. Chapter 13: Will it Be a Trick or Treat?

Alright chapter 13 is up, and do not worry folks, I am not abandoning this story!

Many thanks to my beta, Emi!

Later afternoon, all of the townsfolk were lined up outside of the Town Hall to be given a specific task by Gin for their own Christmas; luckily for Ichigo, he was one of them too. This would give him the chance to warn Gin about what he saw last night. So, there he was in the ridiculously line, tapping his foot impatiently. God, what is taking them so long? How many people do they need to make their own "Christmas"?

"Will the following people please come up to the front of the line?" Momo's voice was heard over the intercom. "Dr. Kurosaki, Dr. Kurotsuchi, Dr. Granz, and Dr. Urahara…please report to the front line. Yes, that means _you_, Dr. Urahara, even if you're retired. I repeat…will the following…"

Ichigo looked over to the chosen people, and saw the familiar doctors of Halloween Town. One of them was, unfortunately…

"IIIIIII-CHIIIIII-GOO…"

POW!

…his father…oh, joy.

"Damn it, Goat-face! Can you at _least_ act your age for once?" the ragged teen yelled, gaining some attention from the other civilians. Most were quite used to this kind of thing, like it happens on a daily basis.

His father ignored the advice before getting up back to his feet, with his head lid hanging open, exposing his half-naked brain in all of its glory.

"Oh, my precious, beautiful son! What have I done to make you run away like that?" he wailed dramatically, making another move to throw himself at Ichigo again.

The rag doll growled before planting his foot on his father's chest, making the latter run in the same place as he reached out for him.

"I could think of logical reasons why…but what made you think about that!" he barked. "I was just out last night for a walk!"

_Not to mention I couldn't come home… since that vision._

"But think about your mother and sisters! Don't you care about them?"

"GAH! Enough already!"

Just when he was about to smack the brain out of his father's head, a familiar voice made him stop.

"Now, now, Isshin!" the blond former doctor said. "I'm sure it's one of those phases that human teenagers go through. It's called 'rebelling'."

"Mr. Hat-n-Clogs…" Ichigo spoke.

Kisuke gave the carrot top a charming smile before waving his ridiculous fan in greeting.

"Afternoon, Ichigo! I see you're still energetic as ever," he said. "Have to close the candy shop for today to go along with these guys; surprised to see you here as well."

Ichigo finally pushed off his father, who was slowly mellowing out a bit, before looking away. "Well…I have something important to tell, Gin, and I'm stuck at this line." He glared at the front with disdain as he said the last part.

Kisuke had heard about the Pumpkin King's persistence in taking his "godson's" heart as his own and claim him, but he assumed that Ichigo wasn't here to tell him that he has the same feelings for him. But knowing Ichigo…it'll take a while for him to come around. So, he had to play the part as the "perverted charming shop keeper who is not only handsome but also ignorant of some things".

"Well…patience is a virtue, my friend," he said. "You'll get to him soon enough."

"Are we done dawdling here?" Mayuri spoke up, sounding impatient. "If we're wasting further time with Kurosaki's out-dated project, we'll miss our chance to research something."

"For once, I agree with Dr. Mayuri," a bespectacled pink-haired man spoke up. He was a more-or-less feminine for a man and was dressed from top to bottom in white. His amber eyes shifted over to Ichigo who shot a heated glare directed both at him and Mayuri. "Though, I must admit, for someone who from an out-dated project series, it's quite beautiful."

"What was that!" Ichigo challenged, feeling enraged.

Those guys knew how to keep their hands to themselves, but they don't know how to do the same with their comments! Unlike his father, Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Szayel Granz prefer updated projects and other science stuff, viewing those like Ichigo as underrated junk from the old days; just mere objects with faux souls, nothing more. Ichigo had wished countless times for something bad to happen to them, just like his stalkers. And just when he was about to storm over to bash their faces in, his father stood in front of him and stopped him.

"Dad…wha-" but he stopped himself he noticed a change in him- in his aura to be more precise. Normally his aura radiates loud and clear whenever he was just being his spazzy self. But now…it was calm and dangerous. He had never seen him like this before, even around those more-than-insane fellow doctors. He watched his father from behind as he calmly recaps his head closed, keeping eye contact with the two doctors.

"Dr. Kurotsuchi and Dr. Granz…" he spoke in a serious tone that Ichigo had rarely heard. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience with me seeing my _son_ here…" Then a hard glare and scowl that is identical to Ichigo's replaced his calm expression. "But if you make further comments, I will make you regret for addressing my family in such a manner."

All three were in a glaring match, making those who were attending a bit nervous. Ichigo watched on, wondering which older man will make the first move or comeback, like watching some sort of showdown three of the town's best "doctors". (Urahara, on the other hand, doesn't count. From what he heard, he's retired). Mayuri was the first one to break the silence that seem to be stifling in the air and sighed.

"Well, no need to quarrel out here…I guess we shall proceed…" as he was about to head for the town hall's entrance, he shifted his beady eyes over to Isshin. "Don't think that this is over, Kurosaki…"

Isshin glared at the latter before responding, "Don't count on it."

Szayel stayed behind a bit before blowing a small kiss over to Ichigo's direction; the rag doll shot him a disgusted glare before turning to his father in confusion.

"Dad…I…"

But he was cut off before the older man patted him heartily on the shoulder.

"Don't fret over what they say, son," he reassured him, back to his usual spaz self. "Be proud of who and what you are, and never forget that!" Then he turned to Urahara. "Let's go, my old friend, before we get stuck with the leftovers!"

The shop keeper smiled enigmatically before waving a fan at him. "I'll catch up to ya, Isshin," he said. "I just need to have a short word with your son here."

They both watch the quack doctor bounce over to the entrance of the town hall, while getting some weird stares after the over-excited man. Ichigo sighed, relived of the tension that he was feeling.

"He should have just let me hit one of them." He spoke, relaxing his muscles since they became strangely stiff.

Urahara shrugged as he snapped his fan shut before tucking it inside his jacket. "But he stopped you," he replied. "He may be a crazy quack, but at least he's looking out for you and your family. Besides, he loves you guys more than life itself…always see you as people with actual souls and everything."

"…Urahara-san…"

"Well…time to go in," then he turned to Ichigo with his usual smile. "I'll be seeing ya, Ichi-chan!"

Watching the other man walk away, Ichigo growled before yelling after him,

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

A squeaking sound from a stuffed plush doll in an image of what resembles like a cutesy lion (1) was heard as the pale hand gave it a good squeeze.

Ulquiorra raised a dark thick brow before turning to the grinning Pumpkin King.

"What kind of trash would make a cheap imitation of an animal sound like that?" he questioned. Despite his emotionless composure, the vampire was really puzzled at this. What those garbage meat bags in that Human Realm were thinking was beyond him.

"Perhaps it can be improved?" Gin asked.

The pale man just pocketed the stuffed animal before walking off the stage. "I guess…" he simply replied as he leaves.

"I knew I would count on ya!" then Gin turned to the approaching doctors. "Ah, Doctors, I'm glad that you all could come here." The silver haired man turned to the trunk of various objects concerning about Christmas and pulled out a book before flipping to the right page.

"We need some of these things," he said, showing them a picture of black silhouettes on a full moon night. They show an image of the "Sandy Claws" on a sleigh being driven by deer-like creatures with strange antlers.

All doctors stare at the image; each one was analyzing the structure.

"Their construction looked too simple," Mayuri coolly commented. "I have no interest in this kind of thing;. I shall take my leave; good luck on your project." And with that, he left the stage, much earning a displeased glare from the mayor who crossed out his name, while at the same time made a mental note on cutting his research budget in half.

"Well, I got some plenty of free time since no one has come to the shop in a while," Kisuke admitted before turning to Isshin. "Willing to help, Isshin? I hope you're feeling generous."

The dark-haired man nodded in agreement, smiling enthusiastically. "Yeah, and you did help me with the girls, after all." Then he turned to Szayel. "What about you, Dr. Granz?"

The pink-haired doctor took one glance at the picture in the book before turning away in a snobbish disgusted manner.

"It's so not artistic, it has no air of the theatre at all!" he said.

_Shouldn't have asked him that…what a drama queen. _Isshin thought to himself.

"We'll see if there's something that it is more fittin' to ya, Dr. Granz," Gin reassured him before handing the book to Kisuke who seemed to be more enthusiastic than usual. "And thank ya'll for yur help!" he added as the doctors leave.

"Just imagine how horrible our Christmas will be," Mayor Aizen spoke as he crossed out the names on the seemingly long list.

"No, Mr. Mayor, how _jolly_!" the Pumpkin King corrected him, smiling his usual smile.

The brunet man stared at the latter in complete bafflement. He had never heard such a strange word before, something that is completely out of their usual vocabulary. That word actually exists in this world?

"Oh…how…_jolly_ our Christmas will be…" even saying it was stranger. Aizen hoped that they're only going to do this once and it was back with their usual Halloween celebration. Suddenly, his instincts flared up a bit, and Aizen narrowed his eyes before catching an object that was flying directly at his head without even looking. An eyebrow was raised when he looked over to see that it was a bone before turning to the offender who dared to shoot it at him.

"And you are?" he asked, surprised that he kept his temper in check.

Before him was a tall man, wearing a mask that resembled an Oni from an oriental country, complete with a red mane. He was shirtless, showing off his bare chest and a black dragon tattoo that snakes around it until the right shoulder; not only that, he was bare-footed as well, only wearing a pair of leather pants to cover whatever modesty he had.

"Ha, Gin sent for us!" the man laughed cockily.

Followed behind him were two other men that wore masks like him, a feral monkey and a bird respectfully. Both of them were decorated uniquely; the monkey mask has tribal-like markings whilst the bird counterpart was decorated with peacock feathers, resembling something out of Mardi Gras.

"Specifically…" the monkey-masked man added.

He was more dressed up than the first one; his attire only consists of a black t-shirt that was oddly torn from the collar and a pair of loose blue jeans that were supported by a heavy looking chain. And unlike the first masked man, he wore beaten-up sneakers.

"By name…" the bird-masked man finished.

Compared to the other two, this one was dressed a bit femininely, which went well with how he spoke. His light-blue blouse bares his ivory shoulders as the sleeves covered his hands completely. The blouse has two slits cut on each side, to reveal his loose-fitting light green slacks.

As if for a dramatic effect, the monkey man was the first to take off his mask, revealing a handsome face with long red hair that was held up by a black bandana.

"Renji!" he announced, sounded over-confident and arrogant.

The Oni man followed suit, revealing a bald man with red tattoo markings on his eyes.

"Ikkau!"

The bird man elegantly removed his mask before flipping his black hair, showing off of his feminine appearance.

"And Yumichika…" he said. "And together…we're…"

"The Trinity Deities of everything that is beautiful and conquerors of the ugly!"

"The Crimson 11!"

"RenIkaYumi!"

An awkward silence hung in the air as Mayor Aizen stared at the three blankly, waiting for one of them finally break the tension. They each said their own respective "group name" at the same time, making it harder for him to know who they are…even if he knew their reputation so well.

"…May I ask who you are again?" he questioned.

Renji was the first one to regain his voice before glaring at his two companions.

"What the crap?" he yelled. "I told you that we're sticking with 'RenIkaYumi'! We've discussed this!"

Ikkaku gave the redhead an offended look before jamming his hands into his pockets. "Well, it's a stupid name," he said. "And besides, "Crimson 11" sounds cooler!"

"We're three people, damn it! How the Hell are we 'Crimson 11' if we're only three people?"

A scoff was heard, making the two men turn to their third member as he flip his jaw-length hair.

"Well, I think the one I've chosen is a more beautiful name for our group." He said.

"That one's too long to remember, Yumichicka! And besides, who would take us seriously with that name, huh! We'd be the laughing stock of the town!"

Aizen watched the heated argument among the three with amusement before turning to Gin, who seemed to be enjoying this as well.

"Gin, did you happen to hire that cretin's childish band of delinquents?" he asked. There was a hint of disgust on the way he said the word "cretin".

"Why, yes, Mr. Mayor," Gin replied. "They may not look it, but they're Halloween's finest Trick-or-Treaters."

Hearing that, the three finally stopped arguing and turned to the silver-haired town leader. Aizen mentally gave his thanks to Gin; he could have sworn he felt a headache kicking in. Those three were also known to be the finest pain-in-the-balls of Halloween Town.

"Heh, you said it, Ichimaru," Ikkaku spoke up, flashing a feral grin. "It might look like child's play to most people, but trick-or-treating is actually serious business."

"And that's why I picked ya guys for this special assignment." The silver-haired man told them, looking serious. "It requires craft…cunnin'…and also a little mischief, if ya have to."

A sly grin grew on the black-haired man's face as he held his bird mask up like a fan. "And we thought you didn't like us, Ichimaru-san…" he cooed coyly.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm interested in someone else. Anyways, this is assignment ya guys are gettin' is top secret. It should not be uttered to any soul, AT ALL. Now listen…" he ushered the three to huddle in, whispering in a low tone so that no one, not even the Mayor, could hear. Aizen doesn't really mind at this, in fact, he rather be kept out of this one. So he just occupies himself by looking over the list on which town member that he needed to leave out, in case they needed fewer casualties.

"And more thing, ya three…" Gin said as they broke up the huddle. His usually ever-grinning face became serious. "Leave that no-account boogey man Taikei out of this! Ya got it?"

Gin stared at the three trick-or-treaters hard as they looked at one and another before turning to him with seemingly innocent smiles.

"Whatever you say, Ichimaru," Renji said.

"Of course, Ichimaru-san," Yumichika answered sweetly.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Ichimaru," Ikkaku added.

Too bad that Gin was too excited about making his own Christmas to know that the devious trio had their fingers crossed behind their backs; crossing out their vow on not to tell a certain someone. Smirking to themselves, they see themselves out the town hall and headed for the main town gate.

Everything was according to plan…

Author's Notes

Kon…I had to add him in here.

**Bad Day Dream Omake presents…**

**What's in a Group Name?**

Few hours before Gin's summoning…

"Alright, you guys, as leader, I'd say we're going to have a group name to identify ourselves!"

Ikkaku turned to the redhead with a glare as he got up from Yumichika's lap, who is relaxing on the couch. Judging by their faces, they seem to be less than thrilled.

"Who the fuck died and you leader, Renji!" he demanded. "Since when did the Boss give you the right to tell us what to do? Besides, you're the youngest!"

"Shut up! I lived the longest, so there! Anyways…what do you guys think of…RenIkaYumi?"

The bald man turned to his companion before both of them stare at the redhead with complete bafflement.

"Say what?" they both chorused.

Renji couldn't help but smack his forehead and drag it down in a comical manner. Surely, they're not _this_ stupid…

"It's a reference to our names, you idiots!" he explained. "The first part represents me, the second is Ikkau's, and the third is Yumichika!"

It took the whole day for him to come up with a cool name like that, the others…well, they kind of fail. So, he thought a group name based on theirs would be a good thing. Unfortunately, it has some unexpected results.

"What the…why am I second! And why the Hell would we have such a stupid name like that!"

"I don't really mind being third…the number three is a beautiful number, after all. But then again, that name is not beautiful."

The redheaded "leader" crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at the two.

"Alright, then how would one of you name our group, huh?" he challenged them.

Somehow, Renji instantly regretted asking that question when he was about to be bombarded by their ridiculous answers.

"I'd say, the Crimson 11! It's cooler than that pansy-ass name you came up!"

"No, no, that's too confusing, Ikkaku," the dark-haired man castigated him. "Besides, there are three of us; we can't have a name with 11 in it."

"Oh, yeah, what would you name us?"

"It's simple, my dear friend…the Trinity Deities of everything that is beautiful and conquerors of the ugly."

"…"

"…"

"…That's too long, damn it! I say ReIkaYumi!"

"No, let's go for Crimson 11!"

"Oh, please, no one would believe that…"

And thus…they still haven't agreed on the name before they were summoned by Gin.


	14. Chapter 14: Operation Kidnap Sandy Claws

**Presenting the Boogie Man…briefly. XD**

**Many thanks to my friend and beta, Emi!**

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Three days before…

"Sandy Claws, huh?"

Renji nodded as he kept his head to the ground in the kneeling position with the other two mimicking behind him. They each had their respective masks upon their faces even though their leader knew what they looked like, just sitting before them like a king.

"Yes, sir…" he tried not to show the disgusted wince in his voice when he heard a sickening crunch as an unfortunate cricket was being eaten by their leader. "We gathered the information as much information as we can during the meeting. And so far, we came up with Christmas town and some person named Sandy Claws."

"An unbeautiful name, if you ask me." Yumichika muttered before being shushed by Ikkaku.

The redhead made a quick glance at his two comrades before speaking up to their leader. "What are your further orders…master?"

All three waited in silence as the white-clad leader thought for the moment. Whatever he says, they had to do it. Otherwise, they would receive something much worse than that poor cricket. This man was known too well for his inhumane cruelty, the skeletons and the stench of death in the room was proof enough. Finally, their leader spoke to them in his chilling watery voice.

"Wait until that bone-head calls for ya…act like you're gonna work for him. Just do what he tells ya before reporting back to me." Then a twisted grin grew on his face. "I trust that ya three know what to do afterwards, right?"

"We do, sir, we won't let you down."

* * *

Present…

The three-man gang head over to their head quarters on the outskirts of town, which vaguely resembles something like a child's tree house. Except, with bits of iron to reinforce it…and twisted like the town itself. Each member was more than excited to complete their latest job, which also includes double-crossing.

"I'm guessing we're going to kidnap this Sandy Claws, huh?" Yumichika asked, smirking at the thought of it. "Not quite beautiful, but I have to admit it does sounded fun."

"Not exactly what he said, but we'll go with it," Renji commented as they went inside their bird-cage "elevator". "Though this job sounds kinda easy to handle on my own."

Ikkaku let out a tch before glaring at the redhead as he leans against the bars. "You, on your own?" he asked in a challenging tone. "Ha, you can't find your way out a lowest and darkest dungeon."

"Is that a challenge to a fight, cue-ball?"

"Better than drawing straws, pineapple boy!"

The brunet watched the two bicker before sighing; he walked over to them before literally slapping some sense into them with his bird mask.

"Stop bickering, you two, that was so repulsive," he scolded them. "Besides, Gin said that we needed to complete this job together."

Ikkaku and Renji gave each other a glare before begrudgingly agree. They couldn't help but admit that he's right; this job is way too big for one Trick 'r Treater alone. However with all three together…that's another story.

"Well, I guess, we're three of a kind that can take on something like this," Ikkaku commented as he grins in a feral way that is enough to resemble Kenpachi but on a smaller scale.

"Birds of a feather," Renji added, nodding in agreement.

"Now and forever!" all three chorused as the cage elevator sprang into life and lifted them up to their headquarters.

_We're kidnapping the Sandy Claws and lock 'im up real tight…_

_Throw away the key and leave him in the dark…_

The creaking sounds of the cage elevator was heard throughout the dark interior of the headquarters; the room slowly lit up as the elevator light lit the whole room, causing the cockroaches and other night crawlers to scurry into whatever source of darkness they could find. Yumichika glared at them with disgust as he and his two companions get off of the elevator.

"Ugh, so revolting…" he said. "I cannot believe that we have to be roommates with filth!"

"Well, they're his breakfast, lunch, and dinner after all, Yumi," Ikkaku told them as he place a piece of candy inside a small cage. "It couldn't be helped." Then he looked up to his fellow candy hunters with a smirk.

"So, you guys…what's going to be our plan?" he asked.

This is an opportunity that Yumichika couldn't help but speak up. "I'd say we're going to set some sort of bait to some trap," he suggested. "Just wait until he comes sniffing and then trigger the trap and close the gate!"

As if proving his point, a poor helpless insect walked into the trap that was set by Ikkaku

"Wait! I have a better plan to catch that walking lobster!" Renji spoke up as he stirred some sort of brew in a pot. He poured in some liquid from a bottle that suspiciously has a label with a hazard symbol of skull and crossbones. "I'd say we shove him in a boiling pot," then Ikkaku toss him the cage and Renji expertly caught it. "And when he's done…we'll cover him in butter and serve him on a silver platter!"

With that, he dipped the cage into the brew before bringing up to see the insect now covered in a sickly green coating. The bald man smirked at his dark-haired friend who returned the smirk.

"Ha, better than throwing him in a box and leaving that guy six feet under for ninety years!" the ogre trick 'r treater commented as he watched Renji handed the cage over to Yumichika, who took it with delicate hands.

He gracefully walked over to the chute that was badly drawn over to create an image of a demonic dragon of some sort. Surrounding it were lit candles, as if it was meant to be a ritualistic shrine. And the unfortunate insect was next the sacrifice to whatever is down there.

"Then Mr. Shirotoshi will take this whole town over," he said before throwing the cage down into the chute. "And he'll be so pleased…that he'll actually cooked that red man rare!"

The clanking sound was heard throughout the intricate pipelines before it finally fell into an underground lair, right upon a platform of some sort. The poor little insect looked around its surroundings; vaguely see some objects that looked like cowboys from a bad spaghetti western film because of the darkness. There was also an iron maiden standing in one corner, its feminine face was hard and cold as its iron body. Then it heard a muffled cry, making it search for the source.

When it finally saw the source of the noise, it was a cowardly looking man around his middle ages. He was bound and gagged to what looked like a wheel that was meant for torture. Then it heard something else…and it sounded like a sinister laugh. The insect also saw an ominous shadow approaching its cage.

And the last thing it saw was a sadistic smile before a pale hand was shoved through the steel bars to grab it.

Renji grunted as he pushed what looked like a medieval cannon out of one of the storage and into the living room.

"I'd say we take a cannon aim at his door, and then knock three times and poof he's gone!"

Yumichika rolled his eyes as he slapped his forehead.

"Renji, you idiot, where's your brain! We need this guy alive, not dead!" he chastised him. "If we bring his corpse back, and Gin will beat us until we were black and green! And I would look hideous afterwords!"

Ikkaku came in, riding an animated bathtub. Rust covered its formerly flawless porcelain body as the bald man casually leans upon it.

"Well, that's nothing compared what Shirotoshi will do to us," he said. "I would rather be tied up in a bag and thrown in the deepest part of the ocean, and it would still look pleasant." Then he looked over to the chute shrine with slight fear. "That guy…"

CLANG! The sound went off when the cage made contact to the floor, tossed out by the underground dweller. It was torn up, almost as if someone shoved it through bare-handed; only difference was that there were no traces of fresh blood on the broken bars.

"…scares the shit out of me." He finished.

Renji could feel a cold shudder down his spine at the thought of their leader punishing them.

"If I were on his list…I would get the fuck out of this town!" Then he looked over and saw a familiar smug smile on Ikkau's face.

"But he'll be so pleased with our success, if we do the job right," he said. "Maybe he'll reward us."

"Oh, you think he'll make that snake and spider stew?" Yumichika spoke up. "Our master may have some hideous ways but he does make such a delicacy."

Their master may be cruel, but his cooking…was delicious; a one of many small facts that the three have known about him, and never confronted him in fear of what he might do to them afterwards. They're just his faithful henchmen, armored with only pride and ego. All the needed to do is to please the big man and stay off of his bad side.

The three candy hunters head over to their storage of weaponry and traps. Inside the storage where more than enough to be armed to the teeth; from chains to bombs, and also various weapons that were enough to take down a brigade. Yumichika looked over to some of the equipment with distaste before grabbing his favorite sword and Ikkaku's spear.

"If only my cohorts weren't such muscle-headed idiots…" he muttered to himself.

Unfortunately, the cohorts he was talking about caught what he said. Renji was just trying to remove the ball and chain from the bald man's ankle after accidently clasping himself to it.

"Hey, I'm not the dumb one!" Ikkaku exclaimed, sounding offended.

"You're such a kill-joy!" Renji yelled.

A vein throbbed on Yumichika's forehead before turning to glare at the redhead. "SHUT UP!"

"Make me!"

He would be damned if Yumichika develop a habit of rolling his eyes at the redhead's immaturity, it would be unbeautiful on him. He gazed around the items before spotting the one that he was looking for. Grinning, he tossed the spear over to Ikkaku before picking up a black strong box.

"Listen up, you two, I have something that is really juicy," dark-haired man said, showing them the black. "We could send a present to his door with a note attached to it. We could hide inside until the curiosity gets the best of him…and then when he'll look inside, we have him!"

To prove his point, he opened up the box and out sprang a small swarm of black scorpions, nestling upon Ikkaku's bald head. Hearing the hissing swarm on his naked head, Ikkaku couldn't help but grin at Yumichika's idea.

"More effective than my idea of beating that guy with a stick!" he said before throwing in some smoke bombs into the bathtub.

"Or locking him up for ninety years and see if he can crack!" Renji laughed as he took a clamp trap and a large bag before throwing them in the tub. He also grabbed his sword and threw it in along with the others.

"Mr. Shirotoshi would sure to get his kicks when he's in a chopping mood," Yumichika commented before climbing into the bathtub.

The other two members followed and the bathtub carried them out of the "tree house" as they place on their respective masks. Devious smirks had never left their faces when they entered into the dead woods, following Gin's instructions while keeping _their_ boss's orders in check.

Double-crossing and getting treats were their everyday rewards, after all.

"Christmas Town and 'Sandy Claws', eh?" a watery voice was heard as a pair of blood-red dice were tossed up and down in the air. "That Ichimaru's skull was thicker than I thought…"

Then the hooded man turned to his victim, who was even barely alive but still looked like he's going to wet his pants for the second time. Numerous cuts and slashes covered the man's form, and the gag on his mouth was soaked with saliva and blood.

"Ready for another round of dice, eh, Aramaki?" a sick twisted grin grew on his face when he held up the dice.

* * *

A/N: Just to be clear, the last scene was NOT sexual, just plain terror and cruelty.

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**Bad Day Dream Omake presents…**

**Eeny Meeny Miny**

"Hi-ho, Silver, away!"

"Oh, would you please can it, Renji?" Yumichika spoke up. "Your grating voice is damaging my beautiful ears."

Renji looked over and glared at his beauty-obsessed companion as the latter examines his nails.

"Ah, shut up! I'm just making the trip more colorful!" he yelled. "And besides, what else I can do while trudging around in this stupid forest in a bathtub?"

Ikkaku groaned as he leaned over the edge of the bathtub.

"It's been almost 30 minutes…" then he turned to Renji. "Did ya remember what Ichimaru told you?"

"Of course I do!" Renji protested, crossing his arms over his chest. "He said that we needed to go straight on until we found wooden doors in trees. And so, far, we're not there yet."

The only answer he received from them was sighs of boredom, making the redhead sigh himself. Not that he could blame them…he didn't have a watch on him but Renji was sure that it was nearly afternoon, and they still haven't found that location that Gin had told them. So for now, all they see are dead trees and…dead trees.

After trotting for a while, Renji saw something up ahead of them.

"Hey, guys! We're here!" he exclaimed, making his comrades sit up with excitement.

It was just like what Gin had told them…wooden doors that were engraved in trees, all forming in a neat circle. The bathtub stopped when it reaches the center, allowing the three trick 'r treaters to admire the sight around them.

"This is beyond beautiful…" Yumichika mused before spotting the red heart-shaped door. "Oh, I really like that one the best."

Renji grinned before leaping off of the bathtub.

"Alright…now the searching part is done, time to get into the door!" he said.

Ikkaku looked at each door before turning to the redhead with an eyebrow raised.

"Um…Renji…there were six doors here," he pointed out. "Did you remember what Gin told us?"

"Um…"

_I forgot…_

_

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_

To be continued…

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**A/N: The appearance of the Oogie Boogie Man will be revealed...EVENTUALLY!**


	15. Chapter 15: The Cassandran Thesis

A/N: Got back from the wisdom teeth extraction from this morning...man was I numbed. From what I remember, the doctor was trying to find a vein to poke the IV in to no avail because I'm devoid of any food or water. Took about four tries, three on my arm and one on the back of my hand. It's kind of like a pinch but it still hurts. Then he finally found one on the left back of my hand and they pour some narcotics and motrin into it to get me woozy. At first the whole room was dizzy then the next thing I knew, everything went black. From what I can remember is the drilling soun at the back of my head. When I came to, I was escorted into another room where I get to take another nap. And along the way home...I was still a bit drugged.

Took some time to get feeling back on my lower lip. But in other news, this chapter is now up!

And this might be late and I was meant to include this at the first chapter buuut…

Warning: May contain slight yuri/shojo-ai

* * *

"It goes somethin' like this…"

Gin was currently holding up what looks like a belt with bells attached. He started to tap the bells to play out a tune from one of the songs that he found in a lyrics book before turning to the street band. From what he read it was called "Jingle Bells"…which kind of fit the said object that he was holding.

"How about it?" he asked. "Think ya can manage?"

A sound of a throat clearing was heard inside the cello as Nanao fixed her glasses.

"A one, and a two, and a three and a…"

And on her cue, the band started to play their version of the song. Only difference is that it was off-key…and creepy. Even with a solo bit with Shunsui's saxophone. Gin didn't pay any mind to all, in fact, he likes it!

"That's splendid, ya guys," he praised them. "Just keep practicin' and ya'll be just fine!"

"Alright…next please," Mayor Aizen spoke before looking up to see who was next in line.

_Well, speak of a Devil…an angel descends upon us with His grace…_

Ichigo ignored the lustful leer from the mayor as he walked up to Gin; he was surprised that after all that waiting, he hasn't cracked yet. However, he wasn't surprised when he saw the town leader's shock and joy at the sight of him.

"Ichigo…!" Gin couldn't believe his eyes…the love of his life was here! And on making his Christmas! "I…I'm surprised to see ya here! But-but I'm glad that ya came."

_I am more than glad…I'm in complete bliss! Not only Ichigo gave me a gift from last night, but he actually came by to help me on my Christmas! I know the perfect job for him…_

"I, um…was about to ask for yur mother, but to be quite honest, I was hopin' that ya might come," he spoke, trying to not making this moment as awkward like the last time. "I need yur help more than anyone." Then Gin started to scrounge around the trunk to look for a certain object.

_Now, where did I put it…?_

Ichigo saw that this was his chance to warn him; that image of that burning Christmas tree was still fresh on his mind.

"I don't normally say things like this, but…you're right, you do need my help," he said. "I have had this vision concerning about your Christmas…"

"That's splendid!" Gin said, as he tossed away a doll that looked like a miniature bear.

Ichigo shook his head furiously. "No, it's not! There's smoke…and-and fire…"

Then he was cut off by Gin's small laughter. "Silly Ichigo, that's not _my _Christmas," he said, over his shoulder before returning to his search through the trunk full of Christmas stuff. "My Christmas is filled with joy…laughter…ya know, all that jazz,"

Then he finally found what he was looking for. Something that only his beloved doll would do…

"And also…this…"

He held up a self-portrait of himself before flipping a paper that was attached to the frame over it. Sketched upon it was the copy of Gin's portrait, only in a white setting and him dressed up in a red suit and holding up a present box instead of the pumpkin. Ichigo stared at the picture dumbstruck before turning to Gin.

"Wha…?"

"My Sandy Claws outfit…it mean so much for me if ya can make it," Ichigo could have sworn that Gin was grinning a bit more stupidly than usual, almost like a love-sick suitor from crappy love soapy opera that the witches seemed to like so much. Not to mention the fact that he didn't hear what he had to say about his premonition.

"Gin, please just listen to me for one minute! It's going to be a disaster!" he warned, hoping the latter would get the hint.

But Gin was still smiling, and it seemed that he wasn't listening at all.

"How could it be?" he asked, before pointed at the picture. "It's simple, the suit is just red an' the trim is white."

Ichigo wanted nothing more than to literally slap some sense into this guy's head; he was so dense! The rag doll resisted the urge to pull his hair out before continuing to convince Gin to stop.

"This is a mistake, Gin!" he exclaimed. "It's…" but he was cut off yet again.

"Now don't be modest, who else was clever enough to make it?" then Gin placed the picture in Ichigo's reluctant hands before ushering him away. "Just follow the pattern, ya'll do fine. I trust ya on it."

The orange-haired teen had no choice but to leave the town hall, with the picture in his hands. Without looking back, he slowly walked off to work on Gin's outfit. That idiot king hadn't listened to him…he has no idea the danger he was about to put himself into.

_Gin…you bone-headed imbecile…why can't you listen?_

"Hey, Gin~! I came by like you asked!" Rangiku chirped as she bounced up to her friend, completely ignoring the mayor. "So, what'cha got for me?"

Gin smiled before picking up a strange wooden doll that resembled a soldier. For some odd reason, its head was huge. One of Rangiku's ears flicked curiously before questioningly staring at Gin.

"This device, Rangiku, is called a 'nutcracker'." He told her, fiddling with the device behind its back to make the teeth clamp.

The cat woman giggled deviously at the name; both of her ears stood up, almost resembling a Devil's horns. "Nutcracker…that sounded so wrong…"

Gin shook his head, knowing how his friend's mind works.

"No, no…it doesn't actually crack…" but before he could finish, Gin heard familiar voices.

"Yo, Gin! We're ba~ck!"

"And look what we've got!"

Gin turned to the approaching trio, who were followed by a walking bathtub with a very large trick 'r treating sack. Grinning with excitement, he handed the nutcracker over to Rangiku who was very curious at the moment. Was it just her, or is there something alive in that bag? From the looks of it…whatever was inside wanted out.

"Good work, ya guys!" Gin congratulated them before walking over. "Open it up, quickly!"

He never thought this day would come…meeting the big man himself! Ikkaku tried to untie the knot from the bag since something in it was putting up a good struggle. But when he undid the rope, what popped out of the bag was not the leader of Christmas Town…but rather…

"HAAAA!" let out a gasp.

…A petite brunette girl with a pair of white bunny ears. She was dressed in a simple white sundress with a blue design. In her hand was a straw basket filled with colorful eggs.

"I can't breathe in that thing!" she gasped before looking around. "Uh…where am I? What is this place?" Then she turned to Gin, her violet eyes widen with terror at the sight of him. It was understandable; he _is_ the most frightening being in Halloween, after all.

"Who…who are you?" her voice was filled with fear, and Gin could see the cold sweat upon her pale brow. He didn't even to know that her ears were obviously shaken.

The silver-haired man turned to the trio with a disapproved glare.

"This is not Sandy Claws," he told them.

The three candy hunters stared at him in confusion.

"It…it isn't?" Yumichika spoke.

"Who is it?" Renji asked.

The bunny girl wanted nothing more than to get away from these strange people, so she stumbled out of the bathtub before tripping over the edge. The girl barely braced herself when she hit the floor, thankfully not damaging any of her eggs. Then she looked up and saw a rather very well-endowed woman who strangely possessed a pair of ears and a tail of a feline of some sort. The latter stared at her with some odd fascination while holding a strange grinning object in her hands.

"Um…can I help you?" she asked, wondering if it's ok to ask one of the inhabitants of…wherever she is.

The strange cat woman just stared at her, and before the bunny girl knew it, a cheeky fanged smile grew on her face. Then she found herself lifted off the ground and was held tightly against the other woman; she felt the heat grew on her cheeks when she felt the softness of her more than ample chest.

"Cute little bunny~!" Rangiku squealed, nuzzling against the smaller female.

"GAHHH! LET GO OF ME!" the small bunny girl tried with all of her might to struggle out of the woman's grip, but her grasp was just too strong for her.

"First I was kidnapped by a gang of immature hoodlums, and then transported into some crazy world, and now I'm being molested by some cat lady!" the brunette ranted. "What have I done to deserve this?"

Gin watched the panicking bunny girl to get away from Rangiku before turning to the three trick 'r treaters with an even scarier glare.

"_Not _Sandy Claws…" he repeated, his tone was low and serious. Not a good sign for the trio. "Take her back to wherever she came from!"

Renji gulped as he mustered up the courage to find his voice, he was lucky he was wearing his monkey mask so as to not show how scared he was.

"But-but we followed your instructions very carefully, sir," he spoke, surprised that his voice hasn't shaken.

"We even went through the door!" Ikkaku added.

Gin sighed in frustration. This couldn't get any worse than this…

"_Which _door?" he questioned. "There's more than one! The real Sandy Claws was behind the door shaped like this!" Gin reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a sweet biscuit in a shape of a Christmas tree to hold it up before them.

The three stared at the cookie before one of them spoke up.

"See, I told you it was that one, you stupid ape!" Yumichika yelled, smacking the redhead, almost causing the mask to fall off of his face.

Renji glared at his comrade as he held his injured head. "You said that 'the egg was also pretty, it might held something important', so I followed your _advice_, you bird-faced beauty-freak!"

Then Ikkaku's arm shot out and grabbed his collar before pulling him close. "Hey! Don't talk to him like that, you bastard!"

"Back off, ping-pong head!"

""Red pineapple boy!"

"This is so unbeautiful! Both of you stop it!"

The silver-haired man pinched his nose as he sighed again, listening to the three of them arguing. Without any other options, he reached to his neck and pinched the skin. Before the trio knew it or could react, Gin lifted the skin up and over his face like removing a mask, to reveal a skeletal face underneath; his red eyes were still intact and he let out a bone-chilling cry at them. That sight instantly made them stop, terrified beyond words. Seeing his eyes was one thing…seeing his other face along with them, the word "terrifying" was nothing compared to this experience.

Seeing his "other face" was as rare as seeing his eyes, it was almost hard to tell whether that appearance was Gin's true one or not. Not a sound escaped from the throats from the trick 'r treaters, they were scared beyond shitless to utter a word. So much of sleeping soundly tonight and onward…

They tried not to lose their appetite as Gin replaced his skin back on, looking as if it didn't hurt him at all. Then he turned to the bunny girl, whose expression was an equivalent to a deer in front of head-lights and was about to be run over. Well, first time for anyone…Rangiku, on the other hand, knew him too well about _that_. Gin fixed his suit a bit before walking over to the ladies and practically plucked the bunny girl out of the ginger-haired woman's arms.

"I'm so very sorry for the inconvenience, li'l miss bunny," he apologized, giving her a sincere smile. He carried her over to the bathtub and helped her get into it. "I promise it won't happen again."

All the bunny girl could do was nod and tried to avoid his attention; she couldn't help but shiver from the cold touch from the older man, even after he pulled away from her.

_His voice…it's almost like a snake coiling around my throat…! _She thought. _Is he Death or something?_

Rangiku pouted as she stared at her childhood friend with her hands behind her back.

"Aw, Gin, do you have to send her away?" she whined. "I haven't gotten her name yet."

"Yes," Gin sternly responded before turning to the masked trio. "Take her home first! And apologize again!"

Renji nodded before making a clicking sound to the bathtub to make it follow the three.

"Be careful with Sandy Claws when ya pick 'im up, treat 'im nicely!" he added after them.

"Got it, Ichimaru!" Ikkaku replied as they left the building.

"We'll get it right, you guys…" Renji said.

"We will…next time." Yumichika agreed.

The bald man looked over to the girl, who was glancing at the three of them out of fear. She probably caught the glimpse of Gin's "true face". Poor thing will have nightmares for life.

"So…what do we do about the girl?" he asked.

"Like Gin said…dump her back to her world, and start over." Renji said. "Now that we know which door Sandy Claws resides behind…"

To be continued…

A/N: Since Gin was described as "skeletal" in appearance of the Bleach wikia, I thought it would be appropriate to have him remove the skin on his face to reveal his skull for nightmarish effects.

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**Bad Day Dream Omake presents…**

**Gin's "Mrs. Claws", or Why can't Gin listen to Ichigo?**

_Gin…you bone-headed imbecile…why can't you listen?_

Some hours earlier before the task assignment…

"Alright, I'm finished with my Sandy Claws outfit!"

Gin held up the sketch of his "Sandy Claws" proudly; it took him forever to sketch out a perfect outfit, the wastebasket overflowing with balled up wads of paper was proof of it. He thought about throwing in a beard in, but couldn't see himself parading around with long facial hair. Plus it would probably turn Ichigo off when he first sees him before setting up their version of Christmas.

Shinso floated up behind him before letting out a small bark.

"Thanks, Shinso," Gin said, looking over to his pet ghost fox. "After so much trial and error, I finally designed the perfect one. Now all that is left is to find someone who can make it…"

_I could ask Mrs. Kurosaki…she's pretty good with the needle. _Then an image of his beloved Ichigo came to mind.

_Or maybe Ichigo…_

…_Ichigo…_

Slowly but surely, his mind began to conjure up certain images; one of them contain something he had researched on Sandy Claws' wife, "Mrs. Claws". Now combining that with the thought on the one he loved, it started to take form.

There was Ichigo…now dressed up in a "Sandy Claws"-style outfit instead of his usual ragged attire. The red miniskirt hugged closely to his hips like second skin, showing off all the right curves; the matching jacket has several buttons open to reveal his stitch-scarred torso. To complete the ensemble are the fishnet stockings, a pair of high-heeled knee-high boots, and a small cane candy for Ichigo to suck on.

Just imagining it almost made Gin have a nose bleed, and thankfully, he wasn't the type to drool like an idiot. His only warning sign was the oh-so familiar tightening feeling in his pants. Then Gin thought about sketching that outfit for Ichigo to wear, so they could match. But he has second thoughts.

"…Ichigo would probably neuter me for it."

_Though…one cannot hope but dream, right?_


	16. Chapter 16: Countdown till Chrismas Time

Hi, everybody! Sorry for the long wait and delay...we authors and betas have a life outside of our zone, you know? Well, mainly some vacation time in Florida, and enduring a visit with the relatives and all that...

But enough of my rambling, please enjoy!

Please note that I do not own neither Bleach nor The Nightmare before Christmas. Both were owned by respective owners.

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"I'll take care of this, hon," Isshin spoke before placing a kiss upon his wife's forehead.

Masaki kissed her husband back before handing him the tray that held a couple of coffee mugs.

"I'll be down with the pot, sweetheart," she told him before heading out of the laboratory. Isshin walked over to the work station as Kisuke occupied himself with a candy sucker of some sort. He placed the tray before him and then took a seat across from his friend.

"So, Kisuke, what do you think we should do with our project?" he asked the blond, who continues to lick the purple candy.

Kisuke thought for the moment as he savored the grape-flavor from his treat.

"Their bone structure wasn't like any creature that I've seen before…" he admitted. "And I highly doubt that it can be found in our little graveyard or nearby desert. Plus, with that certain number that Gin needed, it wasn't enough for ole Benihime to power them up back at home."

A dark eyebrow was raised as Isshin stared at his companion.

"So, we need the generator to animate these things, right?" he asked.

Kisuke nodded in agreement "Not to mention find a way to make them fly. This is going to be our biggest project yet, my friend." Then he turned to his sucker, staring at it curiously. "Hey, Isshin…ever wonder how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of the tootsie pop? I tried to keep count about three times but I always forget."

"Well…I…"

"Master…" Tessai's voice was heard, making the two scientists turn to the large man. The corn-rolled haired man came into the lab with rolls of blueprints underneath his arm.

"Here are the plans that you have requested." He placed the blueprints before them and rolled them out, revealing the skeletal structure of the creature that Gin had requested. The shopkeeper stared at the blueprints before turning to his assistant with a satisfied smile.

"That's excellent, Tessai-san, many thanks!" he thanked him gratefully.

The tall man bowed deeply before him. "You are always welcomed, sir," he said before rummaging in his pockets. "And also, in addition, I have picked something up from the human world…they say it will remedy your cold away on those talking boxes they have…"

"Uh, no thanks! I think I'll be fine…"

Ichigo was in a makeshift tailor shop, and he still couldn't believe that he was helping Gin with his "Sandy Claws" outfit. He was just finishing the last stitch on the sewing machine before removing the red fabric to work on the designs.

_Can't believe I'm doing this…_he cursed to himself for an umpteenth time. _I was supposed to be stopping him, not helping him with this stupid Christmas thing! There's got to be a way to keep him from leaving…maybe I could…_

"Hey, Berry-pet, I didn't know that ya working on this Christmas crap as well!"

The rag doll felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance before looking over his shoulder to see the savagely smiling Nnoitra in all of his freakishly tall glory. The tall grim reaper was carrying a crate over his shoulder with one arm, despite his somewhat lanky frame.

"You too, huh?" Ichigo commented, trying to be civil as possible while at the same time hoping that Nnoitra wouldn't molest him while the other citizens were too busy with their respective tasks to notice.

Everyone seemed to be more than enthusiastic to make their very own Christmas. Each town member was "modifying" a certain Christmas related object to fit with their own Halloween taste while opening up wooden crates. Well, most are…some were just smashing crates like the savage brutes they are.

"Yeah…wasn't really interested at first…" then the familiar lewd grin grew on his face. "Until I saw you…"

"Don't even think about it…I've already got some work to do." And with that, Ichigo turned his back before setting the red fabric on the sewing table before rummaging for the designs and Gin's measurements.

Nnoitra gazed over Ichigo's backside before walking off to work on his own task.

_I'll be the one to claim that sweet ass, Ichi-pet._

"Making Christmas~! Making Christmas~! We're making Christmas~!"

Yachiru's singing chant was heard throughout the town square as she was happily chopping off heads of doll after doll on a miniature guillotine that baldy made for her. That annoying cue-ball of a trick 'r treater may be mean, but he knows how to make fun toys.

Mayor Aizen and Momo supervised the preparations of their Christmas, making sure that _everyone _was doing their share of work.

"Who ever thought of making our own Christmas would be so fine?" the Mayor commented as he gazed one table to the next.

Momo nodded as she took notes on whatever activity that the townspeople were assigned to by Gin himself.

"Won't the children of the Human Realm be surprised on what we've done with it," she mused, before daydreaming the outcome of their success. "Just think of how they will react what we've done with Christmas…it'll be like our precious holiday but more fun and they'll be talking about it for years until the grave." She let out a content sigh as she held the clipboard to her chest.

Aizen looked over to his ever-dreaming witch assistant with an amused gaze.

"You're quite optimistic, aren't you, Hinamori-kun?" he asked.

Momo looked up to her employer with a wide smile. "Of course I am, sir!" she answered. "And so is everyone in town!"

Unfortunately, not every member of Halloween town was as enthusiastic as Momo. Starrk was just sleeping on top of some crates whilst his sister, Lilynette, was doing all the work on modifying the toys. She was grumbling underneath her breath on how "lazy and stupid" her brother was and how he wasted time sleeping away each day.

Unknown to her, Starrk was actually busy with something…like living in an idealized dream where Ichigo was his mate…having pups running about…and the two of them having countless mating in the bed.

Too bad he had to dream a different one in case Lilynette rudely wakes him up for something. What a troublesome pup…

Meanwhile Grimmjow was tearing off the tops of crates before pouring out the contents. He stared with boredom as he picked up a string of lights with his clawed hand.

"Remind me why I'm doing this boring job again?" he asked no one in particular.

"Because you're a piece of trash, that's why."

The blue werecat whipped his head to the vampire who had an umbrella set up over him, putting on the finishing touches on a toy water fowl.

"What was that, emo boy?" he growled, baring his fangs and claws. No one insults werecat king Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and live to tell about it, may it be outsider or town peer.

Ulquiorra just continued to finished off his project with a little bit of blood ink on the wooden bird, giving off an illusion of being bullet-laden. The toy itself wasn't so innocent looking either. It has black circles underneath its eyes and feral looking teeth that can only be found in a disturbed child's drawings of monsters.

"You heard me…trash." And not once he didn't look up to Grimmjow as he finished painting the duck.

Then he placed a box over the wooden duck before finishing it with a black ribbon. The blue-haired man stared at the vampire's project curiously, his long white tail swished back and forth behind him.

"What the fuck is that box made out of?" he asked. "Snakes and mice skin paper?"

Ulquiorra shifted his deep-green eyes over to the cat man before responding, "Yes…with spiders' legs and bows. I'd say they're more durable than that wasteful material that the humans used."

"Um…ok…?" then he looked up and saw a familiar figure coming down from the steps of his house. He narrowed his sapphire eyes as he shot the Pumpkin King a heated glare. "Tch…here comes bone head."

The dark-haired vampire rolled his eyes before getting started on his next project. He stared at the strange bear plush doll before picking up what look like a cross between a screw driver and blender blades.

"This will be quick…" he said, almost as if speaking to the bear doll before lowering the whirling blades towards its face.

Gin still cannot believe his eyes…

Not only he had found something interesting to share with his town peers, but also this would be a chance with winning Ichigo's love!

He watched with amazement as town member were handling a specific task, such as replacing tree ornaments with bats, and modifying toys. Not to mention spying his beloved sewing up buttons on his "Sandy Claws" suit; just thinking about him working on things like that with love and care always left a warm feeling in his chest. He could almost see him making scarves and hats for the colder weather right about now…

His hopes…his dreams…his fantasies…

They're all going to come true in one night!

The pumpkin king couldn't contain his laughter of joy at that possibility, while at the same time freaking out Aizen's fangirl witches as they flew by with buckets attached to their flying brooms. They both heard Gin's cackling laughter, trying to ignore the chilling cold down their spines.

"Freak…" Loly muttered.

Elsewhere…Ichigo stopped midway in his sewing when he felt an ice cold chill down his back.

_Someone's talking about me…_he thought. _And I don't like it…_

"Pardon me…Master Granz?"

"Master Granz?"

The pink-haired doctor looked up to his "volunteered assistants" in annoyance.

"What is it, Lumina and Verona?" he demanded. "Can't you both see that I'm busy?"

The twin short obese imps stared up at their master; well, to be more precise, Verona was. Her twin was locked in a pillory as their master work on some project.

"Um, actually, Master Granz…we were wondering what are you working on?" Lumina replied.

"Working on…working on…" Verona repeated.

Szayel's smirk was the only answer they received before he turned to the dead rat before him. They understood that he preferred things that were "theatrical", but what does a dead vermin got to do with his tastes?

"I _am _a genius…" he responded, sounding arrogant. Szayel reached for a wooden mallet before pounding into the poor rat's corpse. "Those human spawns will be impressed on how I transform this old rat into a most delightful hat to wear!" Then he took the beaten rat and placed it on his minion's head before using a chicken's foot as a finishing touch to the "rat hat".

Gin walked by and spots Szayel's project, staring at it thoughtfully.

"Hmmm…my compliments on the hat idea, Dr. Granz," he complimented. "But consider a substitute," then out of the pile of dead vermin, he took out a dead bat. "Like a bat, much better than somethin' that just died in a garbage can." Then he spotted something nearby and placed the bat corpse in Szayel's hands.

"Pardon me, Doctor…" Gin said before walking over to a mummified man who was about to place a road-killed turtle into a present box.

"Excuse me, Shinji," the pumpkin king said, taking the turtle out of the blond man's hand. "Sorry to point this out to ya, but this is quite wrong for a present. This thing couldn't make it, I mean look at it! It's been dead for who knows how long!"

The mummified man stared up at Gin before crossing his linen-wrapped arms over his chest.

"Well, what would you suggest?" he asked, sounding not afraid to challenge him. "It's the first thing that came to my mind."

Gin took in the mummy man's words and thought about it.

"Hmm…somethin' fresher…somethin' pleasant…" then his usual grin came on his face when he turned to Shinji. "Try again, and don't give up!"

_With all of our usual tricks, we'll be makin' one helluva Christmas this year!_

Up on the holiday countdown clock, they only have 33 days to go until their deadline.

But the citizens of Halloween town weren't the only ones busy for the upcoming Christmas.

Inside the toy workshops of Christmas town, the elves were working feverishly as they work on different types of toys. A pale-haired elf scanned the workshop place before writing down some notes on his clipboard, giving off an air of authority.

"So far, so good," he said to himself.

"Hey, Toushiro!"

Toushiro looked up from his clipboard and turned to a tall elf with long violet hair pulled up in a high ponytail. The shorter elf gave his partner a glare before turning back to his clipboard.

"Kusaka, only refer to me as "Head Elf Histugaya" during work hours." He scolded him. Despite his calm and cool exterior, Kusaka can sense the annoyance in his tone.

"Sorry about that, just so you know that we're almost out of wood for the gingerbread oven," he said.

Toushiro nodded before scribbling it down in his notes.

"I'll have someone to get the reload on firewood shortly."

Kusaka stared at his younger friend, debating whether or not that he should pop the question. However, after some thinking, now seemed to be a good time to do so.

"You're still pissed about your snow mobile being stolen, right?" he asked.

SNAP!

"…I'll take that as a yes."

Kusaka could have sworn the temperature around them suddenly dropped around their area as Toshiro clenched his fist in a cold fury; the shattered remains of the pen were scattered near him.

"Are you sure about this, Kisuke?"

"Positive, my friend, we have reached the point of no return…there's no turning back now," then he turned to Tessai with a wide grin. "Alright…PULL IT!"

"Yes, sir!" Then the tall man pulled the switch, activating the generator as it

Sparks of electricity flew out as bolts waver over the assembled remains of the "reign deer" that Gin requested. Soon the electricity hits the four reign deer, literally sparking them to life as they floated up in the air. The three men watched with amazement; Kisuke doesn't have to look over to see Isshin giggling with excitement.

"They're alive…they're alive…They're…"

SMASH!

Both Kisuke and Tessai whipped their heads to see Isshin's head now literally covered with a strange green fruit with red juice spilling out. Then they turned to the entrance to the lab and saw Karin dusting off her hands.

"There's more where that came from…" she said, before leaving the room.

"Come on, faster, you wimps!" a small blonde girl barked at the group of elves. "I wanna see my face reflected on that sleigh after it was waxed!"

The elves underneath her charge waxed the red sleigh harder, fearing for her infamous wrath.

Her short blonde hair was held up in two stubby pigtails, and her green jogging suit was in contrast to the usual formal uniforms of the elves. She oddly has a snaggletooth protruding from the lower left side of her mouth. Despite her rather petite and youthful appearance, the very aura and stature of the elf girl was very commanding.

No elf, no matter how tall or short, was dumb enough to stand up to the "Snaggletooth Queen Kong" Sarugaki Hiyori…well, except for the "Ice King" Head Elf Histugaya.

_At least it beats stuffing a Jack doll in those boxes…_they all thought.

"GET THE FUCK IN THERE!"

The corpse warrior grabbed a strange creature and tried to shove it into the present box. He couldn't tell what kind of monster it is, since it was almost indescribable, aside from its serpent-like fingers and spiders were living in its coarse black hair. Kenpachi found it lurking underneath the stairs of some john's house that he broke into and thought it would make a nice present for the whiny brats of the Human Realm.

Hunting it down was fun…but trying to get it into the box…

"I SAID, GET THE FUCK IN THERE! OR ELSE I'LL SLICE YOU UP!" he yelled again, practically stomping the poor beast until it submits.

…was not so fun.

Once Kenpachi finally got the stair beast inside the present, he turned to the other present that seemed to be twitching. It was gnawing its escape with its razor sharp teeth to the point where he can see glowing red eyes from the darkness of the box.

"Tch, bed monsters are such a pain in the ass…" Kenpachi muttered before unsheathing his ragged sword.

"Oh, well…I guess some lucky brat had to deal with a corpse as a gift then…"

A rather tall silver-haired woman was humming a small Christmas tune to herself as she filled up the stockings with toys

"Won't the children of the Human Realm be surprised at this year's supply," she said to herself.

"Alright, Bawabawa," the insectoid man said to a monster that strangely resembled a cross between an eel and a snake. Upon its featureless head (save for a large mouth) was a simple white plate with horns. "This is your big moment, now ready to bring joy to the kids of the Human Realm?"

"Bawa-bawa!" Bawabawa grunted, nodding eagerly.

"Alrighty then!" then Pesche picked up a skull wrapped in a black ribbon and held it up to the eel-snake monster. "Now open wide…"

But just when he was about to toss the skull inside Bawabawa, the said monster actually lunges itself to the skull and accidentally took Pesche in the process. The stag-beetle man fought his way out of the monster's mouth, comically holding its mouth open by pushing it apart.

"NOT ALONG WITH ME!" he wailed. "SPIT ME OUT! SPIT ME OUT NOW!"

"Alright, bring her up!"

One of the elves switched the controls and guided the crane to move a large sack filled with toys before hoisting it on to the sleigh, with the reindeer prepared for takeoff.

The white-haired elf made a few more notes before checking the count-down clock.

"It's almost time for that day," he said to himself.

"It's almost here…" Gin said as he watched the citizens put on the finishing touches on his coffin sleigh. Each member of the town helped filling up the sack with their own "modified" toys, feeling anxious about how the children of the Human Realm will react to this year's Christmas. The pumpkin king couldn't help but grin more than usual; this whole thing really excites him.

_I can't wait to have a celebration for this! When the full moon starts to climb high and Ichigo in my arms…we'll all sing out…_

The hands on the count-down clock slowly ticked away the seconds before reaching to zero, and lets out an ominous church bell ring.

"It's Christmas time!" Gin exclaimed, before laughing with excitement as he saw the newly revived skeletal reindeers floating before him.

This year will be a blast…

A/N: Hope you guys haven't gotten confused with the back and forth scenes on both Halloween and Christmas Town.

**Bad Day Dream Omake presents…**

**Messing with Elves**

"GAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

SMOOSH!

Sounds of groans and coughing were heard as three figures rose from the cold snow.

"That hurt! I think I broke something…" Renji groaned, staggering up on his feet while using the bathtub as a support. His mask was hung lopsidedly off of this face as a result from the fall. Who knew that hollowed out tree was so deep?

His two companions gingerly get up, while dusting off the snow off of them.

"Fuck, this place is freezing!" Ikkaku complained, his oni mask was lifted on top of his head. "How do the locals stand this place? This is ridiculous!"

Yumichika sighed as he fixed his hair, making sure the white stuff was gone. Although they're kind of pretty to look at…

"That is because you're shirtless, Ikkaku," he pointed out before ruffling his dark violet hair and placing his bird mask back on his face. "Not to mention you have a disdain of footwear."

"That's not the point!"

Renji whipped his head to them, looking more irritated than ever.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" he yelled. "We're here to do the job, and if we screwed this up again, Gin will kick our asses for it!"

"Don't forget _him_, Renji," Yumichika reminded him. There was fear in his voice, despite his calm exterior. "What will Gin do to us is just a slap on a wrist compared to _his_ punishments."

"Oh, yeah…I forgot…" Renji could have sworn that he felt a shiver down his back, but ignored it and ruled it out that it was the damned environment they're in. "Oh, well, no time for that; we have to look for Sandy Claws…"

The three Trick 'r Treaters look over to the town before them, and were instantly marveled at the sight.

"Wow…" was all Ikkaku could speak out.

"How beautiful," Yumichika whispered. _I really like this town…_

Renji grinned mischievously before placing his mask on as he stared down at the town.

"This is the place, now we gotta find him."

-few minutes later-

"Ugh, sneaking around like this is not beautiful!"

"I can't feel my feet!"

"Would you two shut up?" Renji hissed at them, still crotched down behind a rather colorful building. "You'll blow our cover…"

Ikkaku lifted up his oni mask and glared at the pseudo-leader.

"You know…you being top-shit and bossing us around wasn't helping much either!" he snarled.

"Oh, what? Like _you_ will be the better leader?"

"_Yes_!"

"Well, tough shit!"

Yumichika looked over the bickering duo from behind, freezing in place.

"Um, guys?" he spoke. But unfortunately for him, Renji and Ikkaku were still arguing.

"You fucking pineapple!"

"Cue-ball kumquat!"

Finally Yumichika had enough of this childish nonsense. At this rate, they'll be discovered.

"GUYS!" he yelled.

Then in response, the bickering two turned to their third member and replied with an angry "WHAT?"

The only reply that the redhead and the bald man received from the bird masked man was gesturing that someone was in front of them. And there was only one thing that crossed their minds when they figured out what he was pointing at.

_We're busted…_

Simultaneously gulping, they both slowly look over their shoulders, only to find a…

…kid?

To be more precise, a rather young boy with shockingly spiky white hair that reminded them of a certain someone back in Halloween Town. His surprisingly mature turquoise eyes bore right through them, just standing there and staring at them in silence. The trio had no idea what to do…not only they have been spotted, but they will also have to risk their most important mission by a tattling brat! That and they have their identities blown. They have to think of something fast, or else Gin's wrath isn't the only thing that they have to fear.

After what seem to be a long moment, one of them finally broke the silence.

"Hey, kid! Isn't late for you to be passed your bedtime?"

The only sounds that Renji had heard were groans and slapping, possibly to their foreheads. And the one thing that he saw was seemed to be like a flash of red in the kid's eyes…and then white…

-few MORE minutes afterwards-

"First my snow mobile is stolen…now I ran into some idiotic outsiders!" Toshiro grumbled as he trudged through the snow. "Can this day get any worse?"

Behind the building that he had left, was the three strange masked men, buried up to their necks in snow.

Moral of the story: NEVER mess with elves.


	17. Chapter 17: Sandy Claws BAGGED

**I just came back from watching Resident Evil: Afterlife, and I have to say it was EPIC! Out of all the Resident Evil movie franchise, this was the best. Pays homage to the game itself, all the way down to the questionable use of money robbed of zombie corpses. Well recommended, even if you are a true hater of adaptation decaying films. Anyways, enough of the rambling of my life, here is chapter 17. Your reaction on who is the Santa Claus...will vary.**

Christmas Town…

"Let's see…Johnny…Vic…Stephanie (1)…"

An aged dark eye was opened as he spotted a particular name on his perpetually long list.

"Hmm…naughty," he noted before going on his list.

Yamamoto, the humans' Santa Claus, stood in his living room as his assistant, Unohana, fixed his lunch in the kitchen, occasionally stroking his long beard.

"Nice…nice…nice…naughty…nice…also nice…well, there were hardly any naughty children this year," He commented to himself.

Just when he was about to read the last name, a familiar bell chime rang throughout the house. The very action caused old man looked up from his list in curiosity.

"Now who could that be?" he asked.

_That's odd…Unohana told her fourth department that she would help me tonight._

He then walked over to the door and answered the door, before opening his eyes in surprise. There stood in front of him were the oddest people that he had ever seen. Each donned with a strange mask and very strange clothes; he spotted what looks like a bathtub behind them and in their hands was a rather large black sack with grinning orange squashes.

As Yamamoto stared at the three in confusion, he immediately saw the devious mischief within their eyes.

"Trick or Treat, Gramps!" The Monkey-masked man shouted before they sprang into offense.

Halloween Town…

"You…don't look like yourself, Gin." Ichigo spoke as he worked on the finishing touches on Gin's suit. His tone was low and almost sorrowful. "Not at all…"

Gin, however, doesn't notice the sadness in his voice; he was in bliss at the fact that he get to stand next to Ichigo, as he worked on the white trim on the sleeves.

"I know, isn't it excitin'?" he said. "It couldn't be more wonderful!"

_Now that I'm with you, Ichigo…_

Ichigo was not sure about this as he stitched further on the white trim.

"But…you're the King of the Pumpkin Patch," he spoke, almost to himself than to Gin.

"Actually, not this year," Gin told him, making a tut-tut sound. "Instead of scarin' the humans, I'll have them laughin' with joy until they die! Well…not actually die-die, of course."

Ichigo sighed through his nose as he continued to sew the white fluffy material onto the red sleeve. He had been stealing some glances at the latter for a while now; he hated to admit it, but Gin looked actually dashing in the red suit that he completed. He based it off of Gin's favorite black pinstripe suit, except making it red with a white trim; surprisingly red looks good on him. The teen was also surprised that he managed to finish it before the deadline, not to mention there were lesser molesters lately.

Maybe it had something to do with him…

Either way, he had to try to warn him again. Before that vision came true; hopefully he'll listen this time.

"Gin…" he spoke, while trying to find the right words. "What you said to me back in the manor…do-do you really…" As he tried to speak out and get to the point, Ichigo unknowingly poked Gin's finger by accident.

"Ow!" he heard Gin winced. Then he saw the blood seeping out of the small wound from the other man's fingertip.

"Sorry!" Ichigo exclaimed hastily before taking the needle out. Without even thinking, he suddenly reached out and brought Gin's finger to his lips in order to soothe the wound.

_Wait…what the Hell am I doing? Literally licking Gin's wound?_

Gin was shocked at this outcome as he watched the rag doll lick the wound from his finger tip. He felt a shudder of pleasure when he saw the pink tongue lap up the crimson blood; oh how he had dreamed for the moment that he could be near Ichigo. But for something like this…it was unexpected. However, Gin was not disappointed; just one of the small moments that he could always savor with Ichigo.

_Damn…he was really good. _Gin thought to himself blissfully. _Maybe if the time was right I could get him ta- Wow, he really has a cute tongue! _

The silver-haired man softly placed his other hand underneath Ichigo's chin as he gingerly pulled his finger out of his mouth (despite not wanting to). He gently tilted the carrot-top's head up, so that he could look into his tea-colored eyes. The usual annoyance and anger, all he could see was shock…and confusion?

_Poor thing…_was all Gin could think of. Just what was his beloved doll have thought that made him like this?

"Ichigo…"

Then he inched his face closer to the younger boy's, until the distance between their faces were close enough to feel his warm forehead against his. Gin doesn't know whether or not that Ichigo hasn't made a move to resist this time. Maybe this time he would get that kiss…to Hell with anyone who might see them!

He was about to guide his lips over to Ichigo's before…

"YO, GIN!"

Gin quickly pulled away from Ichigo, much to his displeasure and reluctance, and turned to the familiar voice.

"What is it?" he asked, sounding irritated. This is the second time that he missed the chance to kiss Ichigo!

He saw the approaching trio leading an animated bathtub into the town square as the citizens part a way for them. For some odd reason, the bag looked larger than the last time. Not to mention, the three looked worse for wear; there were scorch marks on their clothes and they looked like they had a huge battle with a dragon. Just what happened on their way to retrieve Sandy Claws?

Then Gin stopped on that thought. Could it be…?

"This time…we got 'im…" Ikkaku drawled, lazily resting his spear over his shoulders. There were bandages wrapped around his torso and arms, indicating that he had taken more injuries than his two comrades.

"He was a tough bastard to take down," Renji spoke up.

"Not to mention…very unattractive…" Yumichika commented before untying the bag, to reveal the Sandy Claws that they've captured.

"Let me out!" An elderly voice cried out.

An old man was popped out of the bag, with a red hat covering his eyes. He was dressed in a red suit just like Gin's; his long beard was braided with some violet ribbon, and there were bits of candy stuck to it. The whole town gasped with surprise at the sight of this person. Could it be the fabled Sandy Claws that Gin was talking about?

Even the Pumpkin King himself was surprised…more like amazed. There he is…standing right in front of the very big man of Christmas himself. This is almost as wonderful as being with Ichigo! (Him licking his finger was just a bonus).

"Sandy Claws…" he spoke out, finally found his voice. "In person…"

Then a grin broke out on his face as he grabbed the elder's hand and shook it vigorously.

"What a pleasure to meet ya!" he said, sounding excited. "It's such an honor and…"

Then Gin noticed something odd as he shook "Sandy's" hand. He looked down and saw what send would him into surprise. Instead of shaking a claw like he heard about, what Gin was holding was…

"Why…ya have hands! Ya don't have any claws at all!" he exclaimed.

Yamamoto struggled to get his hat out of his eyes, and finally pushed it back up on his bald head. He was not prepared on what he was about to see as his vision clears up. All around him were the strangest and not to mention the most frightening creatures that he had ever seen; all in shapes and sizes. Some were humanoid while others were almost indistinguishable from man and beast. For some odd reason, the objects that they were holding in their hands almost reminded him of the projects back in Christmas town. Nearby were skeletal reindeer, each one stared at Yamamoto with bottomless void-like eyes.

The old man looked at each citizen with shock, his eyes were open wide.

"Wha…where…am I?" he spoke, looking at each citizen before coming face to face with an eerily grinning silver-haired man. His outfit was similar to his own except in his own design.

"Surprised, ain't ya?" Gin asked, still grinning. "I knew ya would be. Ya don't have another worry about Christmas this year!"

Yamamoto stared at the thin man in shock. Was this man serious?

"What! What do you…?" he was about to protest before interrupted by the latter.

"Consider this a vacation, Sandy, a reward…just relax an' take a load off!"

"But there must be some mistake. I…"

"See that he is comfortable, fellas," Gin told the trio. He failed to notice the exchange of smirks among the three before preparing to shove the poor old man back into the bag. Then he had just realized something. "Wait a minute!"

The trio slightly flinched at Gin's outburst. Were they already found out?

Gin walked over to "Sandy Claws" before reaching over and took the red hat off of the old man's head. The Pumpkin King smiled at the latter as he placed it upon his silver head.

"Hope ya don't mind if I can borrow this, do ya?" he asked. "Thanks!"

_I don't have the heart to ask Ichigo for a hat. He had already done so much for me._

"But, but…you can't just…" Then Yumichika and Renji quickly shoved the old man back into the sack and tied it up. "Hold on! Where are we going now?"

But the three just ignored his protests and lead the bathtub to the town gates, as the citizens watched on with interest. Ichigo, on the other hand, was filled with more dread than before. First that vision…now this; actually kidnapped the "Sandy Claws" himself. He turned to Gin, who was practicing his "ho-ho-hoing" (which looked ridiculous in his opinion).

_This is worse than I thought…_Ichigo thought. _Much worse…alright, what else? Think, Ichigo, think…there has to be a plan B somewhere!_

As Ichigo racked his brain for a plan B idea, a thought finally came to him.

"I got it!" he said before running back to his house.

_I almost forgot about it!_

Outside of the town gates…

"Me on vacation? On _Christmas Eve_!" Yamamoto exclaimed inside the sack. "That's absurd!"

Ikkaku groaned before jabbing the sack underneath his feet hard with the blunt end of his spear.

"Shuddup, ya old geezer!" he yelled. "You're lucky that we're told not to kill you!"

The dark-haired man turned to his friend with a disapproved glare, his arms crossed over his slim chest.

"Be quiet, Ikkaku," he told him. "Do you want to have the whole town hear us!"

The bald man let out a tch before lifting his mask above his head as he sat down on top of the sack. Then he looked over to Renji, who was unusually quiet from this ordeal. A dark eyebrow was raised as Ikkaku rests his spear upon his shoulder.

"So, oh-fearless _leader_…" he spoke out in a slight sarcastic tone. "Where are we gonna take this waste of skin?"

The redhead removed his mask before facing his comrade; an all-too familiar smirk crept on his face. Ikkaku knew that smirk from anywhere.

"To Shirotoshi, of course!" he replied. "There isn't any place in the whole world more comfortable than that." Then his smirk became wider.

"And Gin said to make him comfortable, _didn't he_?"

Ikkaku and Yumichika smirked at each other before turning to Renji.

"Yes, he _did_." They chorused.

And make him comfortable they shall…

"Haven't you heard of 'peace on earth'?" They heard the old man ranted in an annoying scolding tone, making all three roll their eyes. "And 'goodwill toward men'?"

The trio looked at each other before their bagged victim.

"Uhhhh…NO!"

Their laughter was heard throughout the grey skies as the trio led their cargo back to the Tree-House Headquarters.

Won't their master be surprised at their work?

Author's notes: 1. Johnny…Vic…Stephanie… - refers to the English voice actors of anime. Feel free to guess.

2. I don't think Gin would look good with a beard.

**Bad Day Dream Omake presents…**

**Taking Gin's Measurements**

"Oi! Gin!"

Ichigo was finished setting up the make-shift sewing workshop in the town square, with the help with his mother. He stood before his supplies, making sure that he had everything; from the thread to the fabric, even the necessities such as buttons and a pair of boots after some digging around in a shoe pile. Now the only thing left were…the measurements.

Ichigo sighed in frustration as he ran his hand through his long orange hair, looking around to spot the thin man.

"Where is he? For once, I needed him here!" he grumbled to himself. "Oh, come on…GIN!"

"Ya called me?"

Ichigo jumped at the familiar voice before whipping around to find Gin standing there, smiling his usual damned smile with his hands behind his back. From what he can tell, he seemed to be more eager than usual.

"Yes! Now where were you?" Ichigo asked, placing his hands on his hips as he glared at the pumpkin king.

The rag doll tried not to shiver when he saw one of Gin's eye opened, revealing a mischievous crimson gleam.

"Oh, my…is l'il dolly lonely without me?" he asked teasingly.

An orange brow twitched in annoyance as Ichigo glared harder at him, almost wishing it could burn a hole right between Gin's shifty eyes.

"You wish…anyways, since I'm making your 'Sandy Claws' outfit…" he made a pair of air apostrophes with his fingers. "I need your measurements."

Silence hung in the air as Gin stared blankly at him. Ichigo instantly grew uncomfortable as he tried to figure out what he said wrong while staring awkwardly back at him.

_What the Hell? _He thought. _All I said that I needed his measurements. What got him brain-dead?_

Then few minutes later, Ichigo finally got his answer…

…in a form of a bleeding nose, and a goofy grin.

"Hey, Ichigo, ya wouldn't mind if ya can measure my inseams while ya at it, would ya?"

SNAP…!

THWACK!

"OW~!"

"NOT IN YOUR LIFE, PERVERT! NOW STAND STILL AND HOLD OUT YOUR ARMS!"

Gin stared at him as he gingerly held his cheek which was enflamed red and has a mark forming upon his pale skin.

"That hurt! Ya don't have to do that! And where did ya keep that fan?"


	18. Chapter 18: Boogy Man

**Hey, guys, just want you all to know that the updates might be slow due to the fact that I'm in college and also my beta's a bit slow. (Please don't blame her, it's not her fault!) Anyways, thank you all for supporting me along the way, and also enjoy the 18****th**** chapter of **_**Two Holidays, One Wish**_**. **

"Come on…come on…" Ichigo muttered to himself as he searched the iron floor, lightly tapping on the surface. When he finally tapped on a slightly loose tile, Ichigo grinned triumphantly before removing the tile to reveal the hollowed out hole. He reached down and pulled out a clay jug with an inscription that said, "Fog Juice".

_This should stop Gin…_the rag doll thought.

He placed the tile back in its place before standing up and walk out of his room quietly. Ichigo looked around occasionally, making sure that there is no one in the house. As he headed downstairs, Ichigo heard voices and the clanking of glasses in the main dining room. The carrot-top teen slowed his pace as he moved slowly down the stairs, as if afraid to make any more sounds.

He snuck a glance into the main dining room and saw Goat Face and Urahara downing some sake from small bowls and talking about their accomplishments on their latest projects for Gin's Christmas. Hearing that gave him enough resolve to do what he must do as Ichigo turned to the pathway to the front door.

_Now all I have to do is to sneak out quietly and…_

"Ichigo, what are you doing with that fog juice?"

Ichigo immediately jumped in shock before turning back to see his father…who was staring right at him.

The only thing that ran through his mind is…

_SHIT!_

He had to come up with something fast, otherwise he had to suffer with whatever stupid antic that his father will pull off. Even when tonight would be the night that Gin will take off to the Human Realm.

"Well…you see…I…I am doing a, um, actually it's an experiment!" he finally spoke. "Since I've been busy all day helping out with this Christmas thing, I thought I might do something fun for once!"

_Yeah…like Dad will believe this one…_

Isshin stared at him; almost feel like that he was looking right through him. Literally.

"Ichigo…" he heard him spoke as the older man set his sake cup down. His tone was low and serious, which was not a good sign. The rag doll prepared himself on whatever it is that his dad will throw out, may it be some crazy named attack or an outburst…or something that he usually does!

"I cannot believe it…"

Ichigo was prepared for what is about to come; now the only problem is that jug of fog juice in his hand. Suddenly, Isshin sprang up from his seat and flew towards the teen with his arms open wide.

"YOU ACTUALLY PLAN TO CREATE A FOG SO THAT YOU CAN SPIRIT GIN AWAY AND HAVE HIM ALL TO YOURSELF!"

Ichigo stared at his fast approaching father dumbly before growling as he retaliates by kicking his father back with a front kick. Urahara nimbly grabbed the sake bottle and his glass, quickly moving out of the way before Isshin crash into him. Typical of old men and their booze…

"It's nothing like that, ok!" Ichigo barked. "And quit jumping into conclusions, you stupid Goat-Face!"

Kisuke watched his "godson" storm off and out of the door before turning to his fallen friend; his usual mischievous smile was absent from his shadowed face.

"Are you sure that you had to do that, Isshin?" he asked as he set the bottle down. "You know as well as I do that no matter what he does, he can't stop him."

The blond shop keeper watched the latter gingerly picked himself up off of the floor, using the table as a support.

"Ah…you know me, Kisuke…" he responded with a slight groan. "It's _his_ life. I have no right to pry in it…"

He reached into his lab pocket, and gently pulled out a dead flower. Which looked like it was placed inside an oven at a very high temperature.

"No matter how much I wanted to…"

_**Few hours before the Trick 'r Treating Trio brought "Sandy Claws" to Gin…**_

"_Trick or Treat!" _

"_Huh!"_

_Then the trio leapt out to the old man, with the sack in their hands. _

"_You're ours now, old man!" Ikkaku yelled as he was about to help his fellow treaters to sack the old buzzard. _

This is a piece of cake…_Renji thought. _Now all we had to do is…

_But before he could finish that thought, there was a rift in the air as the redhead found himself unable to breathe. The next thing he knew, he was flown backwards and felt the coldness of the white stuff through the fabric of his shirt to his back. Renji turned to Ikkaku and Yumichika on either side of him, both of them were still alive. Not to mention covered in those white stuff again. _

"_You guys alright?" he asked, feeling concern for his friends. _

_Their groans were the only responses he received as they both picked themselves up from the ground. _

"_That…that aura…" he heard the effeminate man gasped. "It's just like Gin's…!"_

_Renji stared at him confusingly before turning to the old man in front of them. That's when his burgundy eyes widen in shock. Standing before them was the old man…with flames engulfed around him as he slowly stepped out onto the porch, with a cane in hand. _

"_Unohana…" he heard the old man spoke; probably had someone inside in that house or something. "Don't bother calling in reinforcements…" to Renji's surprise, the wooden material in the "Sandy Claws'" hand started to chip away until it revealed a sheathed sword. _

"_I deal with these misbehaved children myself."_

_As he said those words, the flames became stronger, to the point that Renji could actually felt its heat from where he lies. _

This guy is a tougher bastard than I thought; Gin must have been misinformed about this "Sandy Claws" dude.

_Then he heard Ikkaku chuckling from his left, making him turn his head to the bald man. _

"_Ikkaku?" _

_The bald man stood up, staggering a bit but kept a tight grip on his spear. _

"_It's been a long time since I've cross paths with someone __**this **__fuckin' strong," he said. He stared up at the enflamed old man with a gleeful smile. "I'll enjoy beating you to the ground, ya old fart!"_

"_For once, you and I were in an agreement, Ikkaku," Yumichika piped up, getting up upon his feet as well. He unsheathed his sickle-like sword and swung it down to reveal the three additional blades. "This unpleasant man needed to be taught a lesson on whom he is dealing with," then he turned to the pseudo-leader with a smirk. "Don't you agree, Renji?" _

_Renji understood the latter's words and smirked back before standing up and brandished his whip-sword before the elder man. _

"_No one mess with the ReIkaYumi and lives to tell about it!" he crowed. _

"_Hey, I thought we agreed to Crimson 11!"_

"_Well, if you ask me, I think…"_

"_OH, WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP AND HELP ME BAG THIS GUY?"_

_The elder man watched with amusement as the three odd "children" argue amongst themselves before reaching the hilt of his sword. Almost as if hearing it, they all stopped and stared at him. Not in fear…but waiting for some sort of movement from him. _

"_Normally I left behind coals for those who are naughty…" then he stared coldly at the trio who glared back with defiance as he unsheathed his sword. "But in this case…I'll burn you three until there is nothing left for someone to mourn upon!"_

_Renji watched the flames around the old man flicker with such ferocity, like a wild fire ready to swallow up anything in its path. He couldn't help but grin sadistically as he, along with his two comrades, readied their weapons. _

"_Bring it, Gramps!"_

-Present Day-

"Don't do this!" the old man cried as the smirking trio led the bathtub to the offering tube. "Naughty children never get any pres-GAHHH!"

The next thing he knew, Yamamoto found himself shoved through the tube but was stuck.

On the other side, Yumichika stared at the so-called "Sandy Claws'" hindquarters as he rested a broomstick on his shoulder.

"I think he might be too big, don't you think you guys?" he asked before giving it another push further into the tube. In doing so made the old man grunted in discomfort. The dark-haired man grin with satisfaction at this; a little payback for making his clothes dirty.

Renji turned to his friend, smirking more than usual.

"No, he's not," he said before continuing to push the poor old man through the pipe with a plunger. "If Gin said that he could go down a chimney…he could fit…down…HERE!"

After a few pushes, they finally shoved the Sandy Claws down the pipe.

And down, down he goes; twisting through the pipe line to wherever the end leads to. For countless years, Yamamoto always jumped down into a chimney with ease, always expecting a Christmas tree, no matter what it looked like, to be standing there. Waiting to be filled with presents underneath it, and maybe a small offering of a plate of cookies and milk by the little ones.

This, however, was different. _Way _different.

Yamamoto had no idea how long he had been falling down the pipe line, but when he finally reached the end, landing upon some sort of small platform; all he met was darkness…and a stench of death. He looked around on what looks like a dungeon and vaguely pointed out some chains, an object that kind of looked like an iron maiden, and also…a rotting corpse. He even heard the screeching of bats, signifying that he might be underground somehow.

As Yamamoto tried to make out his surroundings, he saw what looked like a gate designed with bricks that resembled dice. The gates opened and what came rolling out were a pair of dice. The old man stared at them in confusion as they came closer to him, before an ominous shadow loomed over him, blocking out the light from the pipe he fell from. He heard what sounded like a boot planted on the platform that he was on near him. Almost hesitant to look over, Yamamoto swallowed a lump forming in his throat before turning to whatever-or _who_ever-it was.

Standing before him was a shadowed figure, probably a teenager judging by his height. The only ones that seemed to be glowing were his wicked grin…and a pair of ominously golden eyes. He might be this "Shirotoshi" that his captors have been talking about.

"Well, well, what have we here?" his voice sounded like he was underwater, yet at the same time it was cold enough for the Santa Claus to feel the icy chill down his spine. "The infamous Sandy Claws, eh? I'm quaking in my boots!"

When the mysterious man came closer to him, he could see that he wore a hooded shirt of some sort that only reveals the bottom half of his face and his eyes, thanks to the eye holes that were cut into them. He could almost see the fanged canines in his grin; his hood served as some sort of mask, since there were eye holes cut in them. His skin was so pale that it was almost the exact same shade as his clothes. For some odd reason, the material almost resembled a bleached-white burlap sack.

"Ya know…" he spoke before reaching for his beard and used it as a leverage to pull the old man up roughly so that he can inspect him closely. "I kinda expect ya as some sort of monster with claws or something. Heh, all I have is some ancient ugly fart with an even uglier face."

Yamamoto glared at the younger man heatedly; obviously he doesn't know the meaning of respect. But he knows that he must be strong, judging by some sort of aura radiating off of him.

"Just who, or what, in the blue blaze are you?" he demanded.

A chuckle escaped from the young man's lips as he stared at the "Sandy Claws" before him.

"Who am I?" he repeated the questioned in a mocking tone before bringing the old man closer to him. "I am Shirotoshi Taikei, the Boogie Man…" then as if for a dramatic effect, he pulled away from Yamamoto. His sadistic grin was never leaving from his face.

"And you…will be a new addition for my snake and spider stew! Just to add some spice, of course."

Needless to say that Yamamoto was shocked to hear such a thing from this man. Surely he's not serious, was he?

"What?" he exclaimed. "You're bluffing!"

The grin on Taikei's face grew wider as he cocked his head over to the corpse.

"Does that look like bluffing, grandpa?" his voice sounded smug when he saw the old man's eyes widen, possibly with terror; he was looking like he'll get a heart attack anytime soon. But not yet…there are some games that he would like to play before offing him. Besides, that Maki-what's-his-face was no fun after a few dice roll.

But unfortunately, he didn't expect a heated glare from the latter.

"You vile demon," Yamamoto spat. "Release me now this instant or else! The children of the Human realm are expecting me this year, so please come to your senses."

A groan escaped from the Boogie Man's lips as he rolled his eyes. At least, he thought he made some sort of action to show that he "rolled" his eyes, but Yamamoto couldn't tell from the dimly light underground place.

"Ya gotta be jokin'," he said, shoving the old man roughly away from him. Yamamoto felt himself crash onto the iron-enforced floor, since his hands were tied up, thanks to that demonic trio. "Those snot-nosed pieces of shit of that worthless world; they're expecting ya? That's enough for me to split a seam if I don't die from laughing."

Yamamoto narrowed his eyes at the youngster's comment on the little ones of the Human Realm. How dare he insult them! They're just children, what right does he have to say those things about them?

"Now, see here, you have no idea what you're talking about!" he scolded. "Those little ones were the reason why _I_ exist…and if you dare to say one more word about them, I'll…"

"Ah, would ya shut up, ya old timer!" Taikei drawled as he stomped his white boot clad foot down, barely missing Yamamoto's face by a few inches. "God, one more out of ya and I think I'm gonna need some ear plugs or something…"

He reached his hand into his pocket and began to rummage for something. Yamamoto stared at the younger man in confusion when he pulled out a pair of crimson dice out of his jeans pocket; he watched as Taikei tossed the dice up and down before allowing them to drop on the iron floor. The dice let out small clanking sounds when they made contact to the floor.

"Ahh….there's nothing more soothing than the sound of the dice," Taikei mused, almost as if making a conversation to the elder man. "It's like music to my ears compared to that crap I've been forced to listen year after year…after year…" then he turned to the old man and grin his sickening grin. "Well, ya get what I mean."

He bent down to pick the dice up before tossing them up on the air again.

"Ya see, Sandy Britches, I'm a gambler. Though, I think that playing straight and fair is a load of boring bullshit." Taikei caught the dice in midair before opening his hand to see what number he rolled. His grin grew wider when he saw a seven, a lucky number. "But playing with lives, however…that is more exciting."

When Yamamoto got a good look at the pale man's face, he could see sadism within his golden eyes.

"Yours, not mine, of course."

The Santa Claus remembered the corpse that Taikei mentioned and quickly learned that he was the previous victim of this…this…_demon's_ games. He won't be the next one, not when he still has air in his lungs!

"I will say this one more time…" he spoke. "Release me quickly or face the dire consequences!"

Taikei snorted as he stared down at the old man before purposely dropping the dice next to his head. One of the die revealed a one as its second half spun around on one of its corners. As it slowly slowed down, it finally yields to gravity and fell on its side to reveal…another one. Snake Eyes is what a double roll represent, the lowest possible roll in dice; meant for victims such as this old fart of the "Sandy Claws".

"Old Man, yur something else…" he said. "Normally those whom I play with shit their pants when they're in a situation like this. But ya on the other hand, ya didn't comprehend the position that yur in…" Then his smirk returned to his face.

"But it's hopeless now…and ya don't have any time to pray…" Taikei knelt down on one knee to Yamamoto's level, staring directly at his aged dark eyes.

"…Cause I'm Boogie Man Shirotoshi Taikei…and ya ain't going anywhere…"

Yamamoto could have sworn that the blood in his veins turned ice cold when he heard the pale young man's laugh echo throughout the underground domain. Listening from the above, the trio heard their master's laugh before laughing along with him as they gave each other high-fives.

Their master was truly pleased…

A/N: Sorry if I made this scene not as close as to the original…but I'm trying to fit Taikei's character. And if you guys are wondering about Takei's (Shirosaki, Hollow Ichigo, whatever) name…his full name Shirotoshi Taikei was inspired by BonneNuit, Bleach yaoi writer extraordinaire. I combined Shiro from Shirosaki (literally meaning white) and Toshi (mirror image) from Jirotoshi to make Taikei (BonneNuit's original name, which I asked before hand) a surname for himself. In my opinion, I don't think the fan name Ogihci is catchy.

**Bad Day Dreams Omake presents…**

**Titanic Nightmare**

**The following scenes were meant to be a parody of the Cameron film Titanic, and roles will be filled in with certain cast members of this story. The person in question that is writing this does not own **_**Titanic**_**, **_**Bleach**_**, and/or **_**The Nightmare before Christmas**_**. **

**Each one is respectively owned by James Cameron, Tite Kubo, and Tim Burton.**

**Please enjoy.**

**From the makers of **_**Two Holidays, One Wish**_**…**

**comes an epic journey…back through time and beneath the sea…**

**where you will witness one of the most mysterious…and most tragic…**

Gin: "We're goin' to America, Kira!"

Kira: -set his cards down- "Uh…yeah…I thought we're playing go-fish."

Gin: "I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD!"

Yachiru: "Hey, Ken-chan! There's that weird skeleton guy shouting over there!'

Kenpachi: "Ignore him…his grin's creepy…"

**But also the most beautiful tale ever told…**

Ichigo: "Any closer and I'll jump! I mean it, you grinning freak!"

Gin: "Oh, come on…I ain't that bad!"

Ichigo: "YOU FELT ME UP WHILE I'M STAR-GAZING!"

**Well…sort of…**

Gin: "I want ya naked with this necklace on, and on that couch while I draw out yur portrait, ok?"

Ichigo: "NO FRIGGIN' WAY!"

Ichigo: "I won't let go, Gin…I won't let go…"

_**Titanic Nightmare**_**…**

**Not coming soon or ever in any theater. (Ichigo might hunt down and kill a certain someone for coming up with this…)**


	19. Chapter 19: Don't Say Goodbye

**Here you go, you guys, the long-awaited chapter of Two Holidays, One Wish. Just a piece of info on the Bleach-TNbC cross-over universe, I believe that Halloween Town as well as the other Holiday Towns were as old as the Earth (or Human Realm) itself and was only born on their respective days as the humans progress throughout the centuries. **

**Or at least, that's what I believe is Tim Burton's trying to interpret in the **_**Nightmare before Christmas**_** universe. **

**I got to find some time for myself between college times…**

**A thousand thanks to my beta and pseudo-older sister, kitsune-devil :D**

**The usual: I do not own **_**Bleach**_** or **_**The Nightmare before Christmas**_**. Both belong to Tite Kubo and Tim Burton respectively.**

The night completely descends over Halloween Town, and the full moon was at its highest peak as the town square was in full swing. Strings of light hung on any corner imaginable, as the familiar song of "Here comes Sandy Claws" was played by the street band, which were conducted by the mayor himself. The whole town gathered around, most were adorned funny looking hats that can be seen at birthday parties.

Each town member was filled with anticipation as they gathered around the coffin sleigh. Some were just standing around looking bored, most likely the "Rivals of Gin" club who rather look for Ichigo. But unknown to all of them, a certain rag doll snuck through the town square until he reached to the gargoyle fountain. Ichigo made one last look around to see if anyone spotted him before uncorking the fog juice jug.

He carefully poured the contents into the murky fountain water, smiling in satisfaction to see the thick misty cloud rise up from the fountain.

_That should do it! _He thought to himself before standing up, just in time to see Gin rise out of the coffin sleigh in a reverse vampire-rising.

There he was, decked out in his red "Sandy Claws" suit in all of his glory. Ichigo couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked, but gave a show of clapping along with the townspeople when Gin spotted him. Or at least…he _thought_ Gin spotted him. However he doesn't have any time to think about whether or not he liked Gin right now, hopefully that fog juice was at its full potential…

Gin almost couldn't believe it, there was Ichigo…on Christmas Eve…with the crowd to see him off! H gave his love a smile, hoping that the latter would catch it before turning to the witch who sprinted up the steps with a rolled up parchment in hand.

"Think of us as you soar triumphantly through the sky…" Momo began the ass-kissing speech, sounding enthusiastic as ever. "Outshining every star…your silhouette, a dark blot on the moon…"

The dark-haired mayor rolled his eyes as Gin stood before him and his assistant with his damned grin. This guy is really enjoying this…he could have sworn that he saw Nnoitra making gagging motions to Grimmjow.

"You who our pride…_you_…who our glory…you have frightened tens of thousands from beyond. You have…devastated…the souls…of the…living…?"

The witch tried to read further on the paper as Gin noticed something amiss. It was then that he realized that a fog came rolling in out of nowhere; cutting off the pathway from the launching site.

"Ah, dang! We can't take off in this!" Gin exclaimed. "The reindeer couldn't even see an inch in front of their noses!"

As the townspeople gasped in horror, Ichigo was relieved.

_It worked…_was all he could think of as he let out a breath that he didn't know that he was holding.

"This fog is as thick as…" Rangiku began but couldn't come up with something to compare the fog to. "As…as…um…uhhh…."

"Jellied brains?" Shinji asked.

"Or thicker." A soft but sorrowful voice spoke out.

The blond mummified man looked over and saw a young gloomy-looking man. His hair was a lighter shade than Shinji's and his bangs was combed over his left eye. A pair of black baggy pants was the only article of clothing on him and was oddly supported by chains instead of a normal belt. Despite his thin fragile looking appearance, he has a large stone tablet chained to his back and looked like he was about to be crushed by its weight but managed to support it.

Shinji stared at the latter in confusion before responding to him.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" he asked.

The gloomy man stared at Shinji, looking offended.

"I'm Kira! Don't you remember!" he said.

"Well…not really…" Shinji admitted, feeling doubtful. "How come I never seen you around?"

"I only came about if there is something unfortunate happened."

"…Figures…emo…"

Gin was only half-listening to the crowd's chattering as he fell back on his sleigh seat, almost feeling…defeated. It was a feeling that he had never felt before…and it was really unpleasant to him. Everything that he had worked so hard for…all his plans…his hopes…

Even his precious dream to show Ichigo how much that he loved him.

"It's…it's over…" he spoke, barely to the crowd and more to himself. The citizens of Halloween Town stared up at Gin with sympathy. The suitors on the other hand, they don't really give a damn. "All my hopes…my dreams…ruined…"

"Aw, there goes Christmas!" Yachiru's moan was heard. She came with a party hat for nothing.

Ichigo felt a bit guilty to do this to Gin but there is no other way to keep him from leaving Halloween Town.

Even if it means hurting him in the process…

_Don't you dare think that you hurt him, Ichigo! _The rag doll thought furiously at himself. _This is for Gin's own good! _

As Ichigo attempts in vain to reassure himself that it was for saving Gin, he failed to notice a faint but yet strong light nearby Gin's sleigh. Shinso let out a concerned yip at his master, whimpering up to him. The silver-haired man sighed in response to his ghostly pet fox.

"No, Shinso, down boy…" then Gin noticed a small glowing light piercing through the fog. He looked up and saw that it was Shinso's jack-o-lantern nose. "Shinso…what a brilliant nose ya have there…" Then his trademark grin appeared.

"The better to light my way!" he announced, feeling his resolve coming back to him.

Everyone's mood began to brighten up, but Ichigo softly gasped in shock.

_Shit! I forgot about that damned fox!_ Ichigo mentally cursed.

"To ahead of the team, Shinso!" he heard Gin commanding the spirit fox to float up front of the skeletal reindeer. The townspeople around him began to cheer as Gin snapped his whip at the reindeer team, signaling them to move on forward on the runway.

And to leave Halloween Town…

"Gin, you idiot! Stop!" Ichigo yelled at him but his voice didn't reach to the older man over the crowds' cheers as he helplessly watched the pumpkin king rose to the dark sky. He could have sworn he heard that ridiculous "ho-ho" laugh as Gin's sleigh slowly became nothing but a speck on the full moon.

Then Gin was finally gone. Just like that.

Ichigo just stood there, staring up at where Gin was last seen as the crowd slowly disperses to gather around the gargoyle well. He could not just believe it…first he tried to warn that idiot about what he saw from his vision, and then he tried to halt the Christmas, and now…he's just gone.

Off to the Human Realm to bring forth the so-called Christmas joy.

"Goodbye, Gin…" he softly spoke. "I'll miss you…"

Ichigo haven't caught what he had said afterword, he was too shell-shocked on what had happened. And what _will_ happen as well.

_I hope that premonition was wrong…_

Not knowing what to do, Ichigo aimlessly walked down a path. As he was passing by the band, Ichigo vaguely picked up the lyrics that Jushiro was singing as he strummed his cello (which still contained that glasses chick) while the rest played their instruments along.

_Near…far…_

_Wherever you are…_

_I believe that the heart goes on._

_Once more you open the door…_

_And you're here in my heart,_

_And my heart will go on and on…_

"You know, that isn't really helping." Ichigo pointed out as he blankly stared at the band.

The saxophone player halted playing before turning to the teen with a lazy grin.

"So the little doll finally admits it." he stated, expecting another outburst from the boy.

But to his surprise, Shunsui heard none. Instead he saw Ichigo looking down at the ground by his feet, looking confused. That look wasn't there before; it usually had that scowl!

"I…I don't know what to think anymore…" he softly responded to the older man before walking away, almost like a zombie. Well, that would be insult to the walking dead (since a certain blood-thirsty war-enthusiastic and a kid were living around here), more like absentmindedly. The jazz band couldn't help but stare sympathetically at the rag doll before turning over to Shunsui.

"Now you've gone too far, Shunsui-san!" Nanao scolded, a light gleamed off of her glasses as she glared at the older man.

"I know you like teasing Ichigo-kun and all, but that was just overboard!" Jushiro added, glaring sternly at his friend.

Shunsui literally backed up against the wall as both the cellist and his instrument stared down at him. It doesn't help for the fact that certain two members of their band were already more than big fans of his childhood friend and would easily go against him. Just like they are doing now, glaring over Jushiro's shoulders, while giving out the shame fingers and letting out tsk-tsk noises.

The jazz man sighed through his nose while holding his saxophone up in front of him, almost as if it would give him enough protection from his band mates.

"This is so troublesome…" he muttered.

Ichigo head over to the main town gate and found it locked. He noticed that the gate keeper was absent, probably joining the festivities on their own version of Christmas. The rag doll sighed and slipped through the rusted bars easily, something he always does whenever he was out sneaking into the graveyard at night to gather some herbs.

As he stepped onto the other side, Ichigo heard a faint mewing sound from above him. Ichigo looked up and saw what looked like a black cat, staring down at him with its piercing amber eyes. Without even thinking, Ichigo knelt down on the ground as the cat made its way down, before nuzzling up to his knee.

The carrot-top rag doll gently picked the cat up upon his lap and stroked its fur, hearing the dark animal purr in response.

As he stroked the black fur, Ichigo began thinking back the time he spent with Gin back in who knows how many years. Well, in his case, the moments where he rejected every single advance that the latter made ever since they first met. But strangely…Gin never gives up. No matter how many times he rejected him-or hit him- he still pursues him.

_Hey, Ichigo! Yur lookin' as pretty as ever this year!_

_Ya know, I really love yur hair…makes me wanna play with it. _

_Good mornin', Berry Doll!_

_I didn't want yur wrist to be numb…so I made it loose. And besides, it looks kinda pretty on ya. _

_Ichigo…_

_Ichigo…_

_Ichigo…why can't ya see that I love ya?_

The stroking upon the cat's fur slowly began to cease as Ichigo finally came to realization.

"I…I love Gin…" he softly spoke. "Oh, my God…I actually love Gin!"

"Finally!"

Ichigo almost dropped the cat and began to look frantically around for the source of the voice before turning to the animal in his arms, seeing it staring up at him. They both have a staring contest for a few moments, until one of them finally spoke up.

"Um…Yoruichi?" he spoke, almost uncertain. "Urahara-san's friend, right?"

The said cat nodded before stroking his head against his stitched arm.

"That's right…" he answered, practically purring. "I was surprised that it took you this long."

An orange brow was raised as Ichigo stared at the "cat" in his arms. "Uh…to realize that I'm stroking a perverted shop keeper's cat or the fact that I have the same feelings for that bone-head?" he questioned.

"More or less both, Ichigo-chan…" Yoruichi than leapt out of Ichigo's hands before landing upon the ground and sat in front of him as he licked his paw. "Now that you have realized your feelings for Gin…what will you do now? You know you have to wait for him for the whole night to let him know that you felt the same way as he does. It'll take a while for him to get home."

Ichigo was about to say something but couldn't think of the words that he wanted to speak. Yoruichi maybe one of Urahara's friends, but even he would not understand him. Instead, all he did was nod before looking up at the full moon as the fog slowly faded away around them.

_Yoruichi, you don't understand what will happen to Gin…_

Please review

Featured Song: My Heart will Go On by Celine Dion

**Bad Day Dream Omake presents…**

**Changes – or, the BIG question**

"Hey…Yoruichi?" Ichigo spoke.

The black cat looked up to the teen; he saw that his expression was almost unreadable.

"Yes, Ichigo?"

"I don't want to be rude but…since when do you have a sex-change? Your voice is deeper."

…SNAP~!

"I'M A WITCH! REMEMBER? I NOT ONLY CHANGE MY APPEARANCE BUT ALSO MY VOICE AS WELL!"

"Um…right…sorry…"


	20. Chapter 20: Better watch out

**Warning: Possible case of OOC Syndrome (Out of Character Syndrome), disturbing images, and other material that is not suitable to readers under 18 (physically and mentally). Viewer discretion is advised.**

**Hey, guys, Warrior Nun here with a newly edited chapter 20! I'm sorry for the long absence but Reality is one harsh mistress. Plus, I had to deal with other things in the past such as graduation, trying to keep in touch with friends, new iPhone, and also the month-long dream of my dad being here…things like that.**

**Without further ado, please enjoy once again…Two Holidays, One Wish**

**Many thanks to BAMmwuhaha**

Gin rode through the night sky, guided by the light of Shinso's nose, cracking his whip every now and then to encourage the skeletal reindeer to pick up speed. He kept a sharp lookout throughout the large mass of clouds, before he could see a beautifully-lit town coming into view. The former pumpkin king grinned with excitement as he knew what it was before him…

He had finally reached the Human Realm.

"Hooooo, ho-ho-ho!" he crowed out before cackling.

Gin leaded the reindeer towards the first house they saw…before preparing for a crash landing on top of the roof.

_CRASH!_

The loud sound arouses a young boy from his sleep. He sat up on his bed as he blindly searched for his glasses by his bedside drawer. The dark-haired boy rubbed the sleep away from his eyes before placing his glasses on. Then he stared up at the ceiling; his smile was wide and almost to the corners of his face.

"Santa…" was the first thing he spoke before leaping out of bed.

The boy had blissfully failed to notice the angel light display ornament hanging in front of his bedroom window.

Meanwhile on the rooftop, Gin shook his head to clear out the shaking aftermath from the landing.

_I should practice landin' smoothly more often…_he thought to himself before leaping off of the sleigh.

"Now then…off ta deliver some goodies!"

Gin grabbed the large sack filled with "toys", almost falling backwards from the incredible weight of it. How that "Sandy Claws" guy kept his balance once a year, he would never know. As he tried to keep his footing, Gin heads over to the chimney before leaping in.

Into the first house of a child that is eagerly sleeping to see his or her present tomorrow.

The little boy hurried down stairs before heading for the family den, unable to contain his excitement. Tonight's Christmas Eve…and Santa was here. And he's in his house! The pitter-patter of his footsteps became slower and slower when he reached the den, as he slowed down once he reached the entrance.

Once he took a peek, a small gasp escaped from his lips.

Before his eyes stood a man by the fireplace, all dressed in red and placing toys into the stockings, like he had remembered from stories. But for some odd reason…he's different. He's not fat like he had seen in the picture books that his grandpa read to him, and he seems to be a bit on the tall side. Correction, way on the tall side, He could see silvery white hair peeking underneath the familiar red hat. Almost hesitantly, the boy tip-toed into the living den, as the "Santa" placed what looked like toys into the last stocking; he gathered up all his courage and stared up this "Santa".

If he _was_ the real Santa.

"…um, Santa?" he spoke.

Gin looked up from his gift-delivering before turning around to search for the source.

_Is someone lookin' for me? _He thought to himself.

It didn't take him long to actually look down and saw a small human child with a mop of dark hair and a pair of glasses that seemed to make his eyes bigger than their real size. Obviously this kid thinks that he was the "Sandy Claws". Well, couldn't hurt but act the part since he's him this year. Placing on his big smile- though not noticing the scared look on the poor boy's face- Gin knelt down so he's somewhere near the child's height.

"Merry Christmas!" he greeted. "And what is yur name l'il boy?"

The silver-haired "Sandy Claws" waited for the boy to respond, but all he got were a few stutters. Apparently, the kid was shy or something. And he could have sworn that he had read his name on that list he made during the preparation of his own Christmas. Something Ametatsu…Wally…Susan? (Wait, that's a girl's name…)

"That's all right, sonny!" Gin interrupted him. "I have a special present for ya, anyway!" He then turned to his sack and randomly dug out a present before handing it over to the little boy.

"There ya go!" was the last thing the boy heard, before hearing his "ho-ho" laugh and perform a reverse handspring to shoot himself and his cargo up the chimney.

The boy stared at the spot where the "Santa" used to be before opening up his present, not noticing his father walking in the room.

"And what did Santa gave you, Uryuu?" he heard him ask.

Uryuu turned to his father and pulled something out to show him the present he had received from "Santa Claus". He hadn't gotten the chance to see it himself, so it's probably some sort of toy that was attached to a string. But the second he pulled it out, his dad's face became even impossibly whiter than his hair, and then the next thing he knew, he let out a blood-curdling scream before actually fainting before him. Uryuu stared at his fallen parent in fear and confusion before turning to the "toy" in his hand.

His dark blue eyes widen in shock when he saw what it was.

It was not an ordinary toy that he is holding in his hand…instead it was a shrunken pygmy head!

"Merry Christmas!" Gin's voice rang throughout the night sky as he took off into the air.

_Hope he likes it…it's a huge with da kids back in Halloween Town._

An officer on duty was just sitting at his nearly empty office, randomly doodling on his notepad in boredom. He should be at home right about now like the others, enjoying the holiday and such. But that would only work if he had a girlfriend or some kids…and maybe a better salary.

And why on a night like this? It wasn't not like some burglar cosplaying as Santa Claus would come in and make some sort of scene. The only action he has so far is some kid almost had his eye shot out from his BB gun.

_Rrrrring! Rrrrring!_

The officer casually picked up the phone in front of him before holding up the earpiece to his ear.

"Hello, police," he responded in a monotonous, and additionally bored, voice.

He was half expecting something like a Christmas goose being caught on fire or some kid making a prank call, but what he didn't expect once some frantic yelling that was so loud that he had to pull the phone away from his ear before making out what the spaz was screaming about on the other line.

Something about…attack by Christmas toys?!

"That's strange…this is the second toy complaint we had."

This year none the less, he mentally added.

Gin soared over the skies, looking for his next victim-HOUSE - to be delivered before spotting one of them before letting out a "jolly" ho-ho, which sounded more like a sinister cackle as he lead his reindeer team towards the unsuspecting residence.

The action was just getting started, back in Halloween Town, everyone gathered around the well where they could see all the action of what's going on in the Human Realm on each Halloween Night. But since this was the special occasion this year…they made it an exception. Besides, Gin's on his way to his next house, cackling all the way as he swoops down.

Everyone were filled with anticipation, some have gone as far as bringing in snacks to see one fun scene to the next.

The "rivals" of Gin, on the other hand, they made themselves busy making bets on whether or not that this year, Gin's plan will be botched.

"SMELLS LIKE CHRISTMAAAAAAAAS SPIRITS!"

An odd man crossed his arms over his chest like a dead man before bellowing out a loud laughter in front of the fireplace.

Gin peeked through the frost-coated window and saw the strange man, who strangely wore sunglasses at this time of night, before taking a peek at his hit-list, er…list of…yeah…before finding the name of…Kan'onji Misaomaru, or Don Kanonji. "That's odd…I was expectin' a single parent with a kid kind of thing," he said to himself. "Maybe it's one of those "man-children" that I kept hearin' about in da Human Realm…"

Shrugging it off, the silver-haired pumpkin king used his lock-picking skills (something he learned from Rangiku but never found a chance to ask) before got the door open and hung what looked like an innocent Christmas wreath on it. He quickly shut the door and made his way back up on the roof.

_Merry Christmas! _

Unknown to Don Kanonji, the wreath suddenly came into life, and glared predatorily at its new victim before letting out a hissing growl.

Dinner time…

Next house…

"A'right, come on out, Bawabawa!"

To be quite honest, Gin was really surprised how much room it would take to fit a giant snake-eel creature such as Bawabawa slithered out of the bag and around the fancy-looking faux Christmas tree. He gave the creature a generous pat on the head before taking leave.

"Wonder how'll the kids will get the presents outta 'im." Gin wondered loudly to himself as he made his exit.

The third house was a piece of cake, not only this kid was next on his list, but also the little girl was also staying over at her place. So, it's like killing two birds with one stone…from a homemade catapult. Without a sound, Gin used his spider-like stealth to leave for the next house.

A small orange-brownish haired girl led her friend down into the den, and they were both marveled at the presents. Seeing the toys placed neatly underneath the tree was enough for the orange-brunette girl to squeal with excitement as the two girls ran over to see what kind of toys they have. The orange-brunette hugged what looks like a bear while the dark-haired girl marveled at the soccer ball, despite the…odd features that they possessed.

Then the "teddy bear" twisted its head around before snarling at one of the girls as the soccer ball suddenly revealed a thousand eyes all over its body, prodding out spikes as well.

The two girls scream in terror, throwing them away and made a run for it to the stairs. But that only encourage the savage toys to chase them up as the girls head for the bedroom that lead to one of the girls' older brother.

"SORA!"

The brunet young man shot up from his bed and quickly switched on the bedside lamp, only to find his younger sister and her friend running in and held the door shut behind them.

"O-Orihime…?! What's the mat…" he began to ask.

"Evil toys!" Tatsuki exclaimed as she grasped the door to keep it close.

On the other side, there were ominous scratching sounds and violent yanking, almost as if there something on the other side that wanted in.

Gin felt like that he was on top of the world, hopping one house to the next as he drop the presents down into the chimneys. He was in so into the moment, that he was oblivious to the terrified screams that came in a domino effect as the unfortunate victims have to deal with the so-called "toys"

"This is so awesome!" he cheered. "Now this way, Ichigo will love me for sure! I could bring terror _and_ joy!"

Sadly, he didn't know that terror is the only thing he brought on this chilly night.

The laughter of joy that the pumpkin king thought was hearing were actually screams of terror, each one was twice as loud as the other whenever a child would even come near a Christmas tree; only to find a different nightmarish creature either eating up the tree or chasing them down a hall for their lives.

The families hear the awful cries from their phones about some thin man posing as Santa Claus going by house to house; dropping things that resembled demons from Hell as gifts for the children. Rather than taking the chance, each house was locked and bared. Some even went as far as making the flames stronger in the fire place.

This night…has become a frightful one this year.

And as for the police department, they haven't had this much phone calls since that wild manhunt for a single cat.

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

"We just spotted him…I know, we're on it."

Then another phone rang. The poor police man was practically tied up in the phone cords.

"Hello, police? …I know, I know…some thin freak. Just turn off all the lights, and keep the doors locked too."

_Riiiiing!_

"Hello!?"

"This just in tonight…reports were pouring in internationally, that an imposter is shamelessly impersonating Santa Claus, mocking and mangling this joyous holiday…"

"Hey, Kenny?"

The tall corpse man stared down at his adoptive daughter with an eyebrow raised, who was looking up to him with curiosity.

"What does the lady mean by 'mocking and mangling'?" she asked.

A familiar grin grew on Kenpachi's lips as he turned his attention back to the well.

"Do ya have to ask? It means we've done one Hell of a job spicing up this sorry excuse for a holiday!" he responded, still grinning.

"Fuck yeah, we did!" someone said in the crowd.

Everyone cheered in agreement; some were celebrating early by opening a few cans of booze which probably would lead to a drinking contest. One of them went as far as throwing his clothes off, sending in catcalls. Ichigo, however, was still uncertain about the announcement from the human woman. He leaned in closer to the well to get a better hearing, even if he had to risk his ass in front of the most hated people in town. That and the cheering were drowning out the further report.

"Please be assured…military units were mobilizing to stop this heinous crime…"

Ichigo's eyes widened with horror at that. The humans are going to kill Gin! All because of his stupid idea! And these idiots around him were just sitting on their asses, laughing!

_Gin…I gotta help him…_

"Where the Hell did those idiots take that Sandy Claws?!" Ichigo questioned as he got up on his feet.

That old man that Gin hade those three stooges bring in…he was his only hope right now, since these guys are going to get drunk anyway. Just when he was about to leave the well, Ichigo felt something grabbed his hand. Damn it…not now…

"May I ask where are you heading off to…Ichigo-kun?"

Ichigo resisted the urge to groan as he looked over his shoulder, not very surprised to see the mayor himself, looking smug as usual.

"I have to be somewhere, if you don't mind." He replied, throwing in sarcasm in the so-called polite tone of his, before giving his arm a tug to remove it from Aizen's grip. Like Hell, he was going to leave behind one of his appendages to a closet pervert like this sorry excuse for a mayor. He'd hate to say it, but he would leave it behind to Gin any day.

But for some reason, Aizen kept his grip on Ichigo's hand; the teen could feel the tightness around it, sensing his refusal to let go. Unlike the mayor, Gin was surprisingly gentle when he insisted about getting to know one another in the past. Aizen's grip only describe one word: harsh.

"I'm afraid I can't let you," He heard the older man spoke. "I believe that you and I need some serious acquainting to do…perhaps we would go to my office later."

The rag doll doesn't have to be a genius to find some meaning behind those charismatic words. Any female in this town would automatically get wet from the sheer sound of it. Ichigo could easily detect the lust looming in the brunet's darker brown eyes. The way Aizen looked at him was no different from the so-called suitors that he had to deal with, predatory and hungry. And from what he remembered from Gin's advances, they seem to be sincere (even though it's hard to read him).

Ichigo shot him the best glare he got before twisting the offending appendage off of his arm and socking Aizen with a left hook. He was lucky to do that since the attendant was nowhere to be found (which was odd, she was practically his puppy) and the rest of the town were downing some alcohol.

"Find someone else who actually want to be fucked by you!" Ichigo snapped at him before storming off.

He had no idea where that "Sandy Claws" guy was…but he might know a really good lead on that one.

"…Hopefully the real Santa Claus will come back and save Christmas. We will find out soon later tonight, and we will stay on the air as soon as possible."

**Bad Day Dreams Omake presents…**

**Messin' with Starrk**

"Dude…this is so wrong…"

"Ah, shud up! If ya don't wanna do it, then get lost, ya pussy!"

"Hey, just because I agree, doesn't mean I'm back out! Besides, I'm not a pussy."

"Are to."

"Are not."

"Are to,"

"Are NOT!"

"Are TO! Times 2 to the power of infinity!"

"What are you trash are doing?"

Grimmjow and Nnoitra looked over and saw Ulquiorra standing behind them, looking impassive as usual.

The blue-haired cat man shot him a glare before replying, "We should ask you the same thing…and don't call us trash."

Ulquiorra ignored him before looking over to the black markers in their hands. Then he turned his attention to their chosen…victim.

"Why are you two attempting to create sorry excuse for art on Starrk's face?" he asked, trying to see a clear view of the sleeping werewolf. Upon his face were clumsy doodle markings of a mustache and a pair of glasses. Written across his forehead was "I Lick My Own Ass".

An eyebrow was raised as the vampire turned to the duo with a questioning look.

"Do I need to know?" he asked.

The tall Grim Reaper just shrugged in response. "We can't find Berry, so we need something to occupy our time with."

"By drawing on Starrk's face?"

"…He's asleep."


	21. Chapter 21: Not Going As Planned

Chapter 21: Not Going as Planned

A thousand thanks for BAMmwuahaha

"All units, please be informed that the target is armed and dangerous," a voice was broadcasted through the intercom in a military base. "Repeat, the target is armed and dangerous…"

A frustrated sigh escaped from the lips of a rather short and petite woman as she walked through the hallway. But despite her rather "delicate" appearance, she produced a commanding air, even with a hair-cut that anyone would consider as "cute". Unless that person was stupid enough to give up his left nut…

"Above all times, why picked this night to launch a terrorist attack?" she grumbled.

_This is supposed to be my night off…that scumbag will pay for picking this night to mess with me!_

As a response to her question, one of the soldiers ran up to her side before saluting her.

"Commander Soifon, all men are stationed at their posts," he reported. "We are awaiting for any further orders, ma'am."

"Switch on all search lights and fire at will," Soifon ordered. "If those fail…leave it to me."

"Understood, ma'am,"

The alarms wailed throughout the base as tired soldiers prepare their guns and lights were flashed on, searching the dark skies for the perpetrator that dared to spread fear and terror on this joyous holiday.

Not to mention interrupt their well-deserved night-off.

Gin was soaring through the skies to the next town until he noticed some stream of lights shining from below.

"Well would ya look at that, Shinso," Gin pointed out. "Search-lights, maybe for a show or somethin'?"

"BLOW THAT BITCH TO HELL!"

A single cry from one of the soldiers was enough to cause a domino-like effect as they man the guns and fire at the target. They would be lucky if that Santa Imposter got hit; one lucky shot, and they're going home happy. Unfortunately, the sleigh was still intact.

And for some odd reason, they could have sworn they heard something like, "careful" and "…almost hit us…"

Time to reload the next rounds…

As soon as Gin first heard the booming noises, a grin stretched across his face. Those must be like those cracking fire thingies that he always heard about in the Human Realm. Only…there's no fire…or any sparkle sparkles. Oh, well, no matter.

"They must be celebratin'!" he said to Shinso. "It must be their way of thankin' us fer doin' such a good job this year!"

At least, that's what _he_ thinks. Then next thing he knew, one of those fire-cracking things narrowly missed Shinso. The Pumpkin King grips the reigns firmly in case the reindeers panicked.

"Whoa! Careful down there," Gin called down to the people down below. "Ya almost hit us!"

It was a good thing that thing had missed them, otherwise not only he and the team would be hit but the toys as well. And he didn't want that to happen, who knows how many kids would be left waiting for him in this world?! They would be devastated! Not to mention making any chances of him getting together with Ichigo slimmer than it was.

"It's ok, Shinso!" He called out to his pet ghost fox in a soothing voice. "Just head on higher!"

The ghost fox whined doubtfully before looking down where that rocket thing came from. His instincts were screaming that this is a bad idea, but nevertheless, he obeyed his master. As the reindeer team follows him, Shinso couldn't help but wonder if they're about to suffer upon the frying pan…before heading for the fire.

A light breeze whistled softly against Ichigo's hair as he stood before the rickety hideout of the ever-so familiar trio of candy hunting nuisances. The rag doll grimaced before attempting make a turn back. Then he stopped himself midway; he couldn't…he was right at the point of no return now.

Besides…this was all for Gin.

Ichigo took a deep breath and exhaled as his resolve became stronger, even though the nagging voice at the back of his mind was practically screaming that there must be another way than this.

"Guess I can't back this one out…" he said to himself, before marching onward; while ignoring the escalating beating of his heart along the way.

"Ya a gamblin' man, Sandy?"

A sick grin grew on the hooded boogie man's face as he drew close to Yamamoto's while shaking the dice in his hand. The old man hung helplessly on a meat hook with his hands tied, like hunk of some carcass waiting to be butchered. And Yamamoto is the next sacrificial lamb to this psychotic man's slaughter house.

"Let's play!"

When he said those words, the old man could have sworn he saw what looks like a blue serpent slithering out of Taikei's mouth, as if it was his make-shift tongue. The latter revolted him to no end, but he couldn't show that. Who knows what kind of sick tortures he could put him through if Yamamoto show his disgust? It was a mere fact that he didn't want to know or find out. As the pale man was about to throw the dice, both of them heard a noise.

Taikei looked over with irritation at the source, but that was replaced by something that was akin to lust. Slipping out between the gates was a long slim bare leg, presenting rather nicely before the boogie man. For some odd reason, it had visible stitch scars on it, and that black boot wasn't fit for a woman. Not that Taikei cared, of course. It was a nice change for once; he was getting sick and tired of staring that old fart's face for a while.

"Ooh, what have we here?" he purred as he nudged against Yamamoto's gut. "Now if ya excuse me…I got a little date."

He fixed his shirt before sauntering over to the invitation that the owner was giving out. Taikei just couldn't wait to see the rest…

Yamamoto watched with complete disgust as the pale man made his way over to the person's leg. Not only he's a vile sadist, but also a lecherous degenerate as well! He is enough to make even the naughtiest child look like an angel. However, what he didn't know that the certain owner didn't just offer the boogie man their leg.

As the old man watched Taikei…caressing the leg, a pair of hands landed upon his shoulders; each one had of autumn leaves and they both looked dead. Just when he was about to cry out in shock, one of them clamped his mouth shut while the other pointed up. Not having much of a choice, Yamamoto looked up at the hand's direction, only to find a rather young man by the barred window; something that he somehow had missed.

"I'll get you out of here." He heard the young man whispered to him, clear but low enough to arouse the wretched man's attention.

He recognized the young man from the town square when he was brought here! Yamamoto had no idea who he was, but he was glad that there was someone sane enough to help him.

"Mmmm…lovely…" Taikei purred as he teasingly ran his pale finger from the thigh to the boot.

A sly smirk grew on his lips as he slowly unzipped the boot before removing it, to reveal the naked foot. Another low purr escaped from his lips when he continues to caress the rest of the appendage, relishing the smooth feel of it. Oh, yes…he _definitely_ wanted to see the rest of this beauty…

Ichigo tried to hold back the disgusted groan as he let down the rope ladder, despite being handless at the moment. To actually detaching one of his own limbs and hang it in front of the most hated man of the town since…well, Aizen was actually the second most hated. That is one of the new lowest of the low that he had ever done. Compared to Gin's touch, Taikei's like a serpent rubbing its cold body against his skin. The rag doll bit his lip in resistance to let out a sound when he vaguely felt something wet and slimy from his foot to his calf. A sense of disgust ran through his very being, trying to force some bile down his throat.

But nevertheless, it was enough to distract the boogie man as Ichigo's hands worked their way off of the old man's restraints. He could only pray this charade would keep up long enough for them to escape…somehow.

Then Ichigo suddenly felt a cold chill down his back. And for some odd reason, the air felt thicker, making his breathing became shallower…

"HA! Ya think ya can try ta make a dupe outta me, dun't ya?"

Ichigo swallowed a lump in his throat before daring to look down and saw to his horror, was Taikei looking up at them with a wicked smile…and holding his severed leg.

_Damn it! We're caught…?! _

Then he started to feel light-headed, Ichigo didn't need to know if the "Sandy Claws" was affected by this too. The next thing he knew, they both fell into the underground lair as their only chance of escape fell along with them.

Before the darkness takes over him, the last thing that Ichigo saw was that sadistic grin from the pale man's face.

_G…Gin…_

To be continued…

**Bad Day Dreams Omake presents…**

**How did Ichigo know where to find Sandy Claws?**

Ichigo ran through the gates and down the cobblestone path, feeling his heart reaching to his throat. But he pressed on, summoning all his strength to his legs as the adrenaline rushed through his being.

There were only a few people that he could think of right now that knew where this "Sandy Claws" was. Besides, from what he can remember, Gin seemed to have a hand in his capture. But none of that was important at this time…

Gin definitely needed his help, and this old man would be the one to fit the bill. So for now, Ichigo was at loss on where to start.

"God damn it!" he cursed. "Where can you find a trio of idiots that were enough to make the three stooges look intelligent at a time like this?!"

Little did he know, Ichigo will have a bit of a divine intervention.

"For the hundredth-eightieth time…WE'RE NOT USING THAT LONG-ASS NAME!"

"…"

…Sort of.

_Well, that was easy…_

Without wasting any thought (including time), Ichigo followed the familiar arguing voices towards the graveyard. When he finally reached to the graveyard, Ichigo wasn't surprised to see the trio doing what they do best aside from trick or treating…

Arguing over the stupidest things.

"Here goes nothing…" Ichigo said to himself before approaching the three man group.

"Oh, come on now, it's a beautiful name!" Yumichika told him as he made himself comfortable on Ikkaku's lap.

It was a good thing that they have decided to sneak away from…their boss's entertainment to their guest. They so do not want to be around when _**that**_ happens. So, the trio found themselves in the graveyard, being bored out of their minds-disrespecting the dead-and also, mostly, arguing over the group name.

Ikkaku sighed as he rested his chin upon his partner's shoulder, already bored with the same routine.

"Can we talk about something else for a change?" he spoke up. "And maybe other than coming up a group name?"

Both members of the trick 'r treating gang stared at the bald man with disbelief, utterly shocked at what he said- for once- was actually intelligent. After a long moment of awkward silence, one of them finally spoke up.

"Oh, my God, Ikkaku's actually got a brain underneath that chrome dome."

Ikkaku growled at the redhead as he was about to reach for his favorite spear, which he affectionately nicknamed "Houzukimaru". "Why, you son of a…" he snarled. But just when Ikkaku was about to get up, Yumichika placed a soothing hand upon his bare chest, effectively stopping him.

"Easy, Ikkaku…" the dark-haired man chastised him.

Renji found himself in a death glare match with the bald man; both of them were sizing each other up from their respective seats of grave markers. Yumichika sighed at the childish antics that his companions are showing. Honestly, it was so hideous…

Then he heard a twig snapped, making the feminine man turn to the source. There he found what seems like what the doctor ordered.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" he spoke up, smirking elegantly.

Both Renji and Ikkaku broke off their glaring match before looking up to see the rag doll approaching them. A lewd smirk grew on Renji's lips as Ichigo walked up to them. Even that pine-apple head wasn't resistant to his charms; Ikkaku already got Yumichika to ogle over.

"Thought I find you guys here…" Ichigo said, giving a good distance between him and the three.

Even though they're just a bunch of idiots, there is no doubt that the pranks they pulled off are enough to make the humans' version look like a kids' game. They were a force to be reckoned with, even if they're on a smaller scale than their…boss.

"For what do we owe you the pleasure?" Renji was the first to speak up.

Ikkaku and Yumichika rolled their eyes at him. Another Ragberry admirer…this is going to be good.

"Cut the bullshit. I'm cutting to the chase, where's your boss located?" Ichigo asked…well, more like demanded is the right term. Those three were his only hope to get to that old manand to save Gin, if possible. The orangnet instantly stiffened when he saw the familiar smirk on the redhead's face; he had been around perverts long enough to know what that smile meant.

"I have no idea…" Renji replied, purposely teasing him. He watched as Ichigo's hand tightens into a fist, looking obviously miffed. "But if you do a little something for me…" then he opens his legs a little. "Maybe I might remember the exact location."

Ichigo instantly knew what Renji was implying before narrowing his eyes as he glared at him.

Before the trio knew it, Ichigo suddenly brandished a large black curved sword out of nowhere and swung it down at Renji's crotch, thankfully missing it. (Though it could be on purpose…). Ikkaku and Yumichika could have sworn that they heard a high-pitched shriek from their youngest member. But they're paying too much attention at Ichigo's more-than pissed off face to even look over.

"I DON'T KNOW! I REALLY DON'T KNOW!" Renji cried out in a sheer panic, looking absolutely panicked. "I SWEAR TO GOD!"

The rag doll growled with dissatisfaction as he raised the sword above his head. It was a wonder that he had enough strength to lift something that is so large. That and also the fact that he _was _a rag doll.

"Swear to _ME_!" Ichigo barked.

Just as he was about to swing down, Renji decided to make a choice between seeing his future children and the secrecy of his boss's hideout.

He knew what kind of choice that he had to make, fuck the consequences later.

"OK! OK! SHIROTOSHI'S UNDERNEATH THE CLUB HOUSE!"

Ichigo thankfully stopped midway and lowered the oversized blade, glaring down at the cowering man.

"Thanks…" was all he said before leaving.

The Trick 'r Treating gang did nothing but watch the boy's back from the distance until they could no longer see him. They all let out a sigh of relief as the redhead fell on his back.

"For a moment there, I thought he was about to castrate me…"

A/N: I thought the lines from _Batman Begins_ would fit these two…


	22. Chapter 22: Deeper into the Fire

Hey, what's up people?! Guess who's back on ? :D I'm sorry for a long, long, long, LONG absence...the kids are right. The international educational facilities are Hell. But they are a necessary Hell for the future. And also I am back with a new beta, new ideas, and new...stuff! There might be some changes going around in the ongoing stories, not to mention upcoming new blood but I'm not gonna yammer on too long. To the new readers, welcome. To those who stuck around, I just wanna say, thanks.

But most of all, please enjoy the story.

Hit it.

Chatper 22: Boogieman's Mercy

A thousand thanks for BAMmwuahaha for beta'ing this

Last chapter…

_G…Gin…_

Gin felt something tingle down his spine, making him look up from his list.

_That's odd…it's almost as if someone's talking about me…_

The skeletal man shrugged his shoulders before looking back at the insanely long list of names.

"Alrighty then, who's next on my list ta getta present…" Gin said to himself as he looked through. "Ah…l'il Noriaki and Tim (1), won't they be surprised?"

Meanwhile down below…

"What in the name of God is taking you idiots so long?!" Soi Fon barked as she stormed out into the gunning field. "It's just one target! Not a flock of geese!"

All the soldiers instantly jump at the sound of their superior's voice; none of them have the guts to respond to their superior, no matter how tiny she seems to be. One of them finally worked up enough nerve to speak. Keyword: enough.

"W-We…we tried to shoot him down, Ma'am," he spoke. "But we can't seem to get a hit on the perp."

The small Chinese woman narrowed her eyes before glaring up at the flying sleigh. Obviously this foolish felon was trying to make fun of her. Well, two can play at that game. This bitch is going down, no matter how good he is at evasion. She turned to a couple of gunners before pointing a finger at them.

"You two!" she said, making the tall men straighten up quickly. "Get me Suzumebachi, on the double!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" the two men chorused before running off without hesitation. They really don't want to get on her bad side…

Soi Fon looked back at the sleigh above her before smirking to herself.

"Get ready to burn, imposter."

The last thing Ichigo could remember was seeing that damned boogie man's grin before the black, and then the coldness from some metal floor. The rag doll groaned as he slowly started to come back to his senses, happy to find both of his detached hands lying before him. He breathed a sigh of relief before noticing that he was being watched.

Gingerly sitting up, Ichigo looked around and saw the "Sandy Claws" in one corner. He could see that the older man's are tied again; of course, he was caught too. Sighing in frustration, the carrot-top took a good look at his surroundings; it seemed like they were in a metal cage of some sort. At least, they're not in some secret torture section of…wherever undergrounds this place was located

"Looks like I'm your roommate now, Gramps…" he spoke in a sarcastic tone as his hands crawl over to him like a couple of spiders.

The older man gave him an offended look before responding to him in a huff.

"It's Yamamoto to you, young man," he corrected him. "I'm also known as _Santa Claus_. Not 'Sandy Claws'."

Ichigo let out a click of his tongue at the authority that the tone possessed, he had dealt with these types as well, the somewhat sane ones but still think that they're higher than most people. "Yeah, yeah, whatever…" he muttered.

Sandy Claws, Santa Claus…he was beginning to understand why Gin mistook that. They sounded too similar.

He turned his attention back to his hands that got themselves back up and started to crawl towards him like a pair of spiders. The rag doll ignored the look that the old man was giving him as one of his hands repair the other back onto his wrist; either it was surprise or a shocked disgust. Either one, he could understand him perfectly…the old man is a foreigner after all. This was his first time to be here in Halloween Town. And probably the last…but he would rather not think negatively. Never the less, he kept re-attaching his hand before moving on to the next one.

As he finished repairing himself, Ichigo noticed that there was something missing. "Where the Hell is my leg?"

Yamamoto noticed that the boy's hands were the only ones with them, and he's still one leg short. It was strange…why wasn't his leg there with them? Before he could even answer to the teen's question, a rather familiar voice spoke up.

"Outta all legs that those self-starvin' sluts killed themselves over in da Human Realm and this cesspool…"

Ichigo and the Santa Claus both turned to the source and sauntering out of the darkness was the alabaster-hooded man himself; still grinning like a maniac he was.

In his hand was the rag doll's severed leg.

"Yurs were da most beautiful, Berry-tan…" Almost as to put an emphasis, Taikei raised the leg up to his lips. Ichigo was half-expecting a literal snake tongue that he saw earlier, but instead saw what looked like a blue forked tongue. Then to his disgust, Taikei slithered his tongue from the ankle and almost to his inner thigh. The oranget shuts his eyes as he tried to ignore the revolting sensation that he felt on his own body, it was almost as if he was exactly there, feeling everything.

"Sh-shut up! Just give me my leg back, you bastard!" he snapped, shooting a glare at the boogie man through the iron bars. "And also, let us go while you're at it!"

The pale man just smirked and laughed at him as he casually held Ichigo's limb against his shoulder.

"What makes ya think that I'm goin' ta do that?" he asked, nuzzling against the soft stitched skin. His smirk grew wider. "Letting ya go, I mean."

The rag doll glared at him with defiance and suspicion. Just what the Hell was he getting at?

"What are you talking about?" he questioned. By the way he saw the sick smirk on the latter's face grow, Ichigo knew that he would regret asking such a rhetorical question that would lead to an obvious answer from the other man the moment he said it.

He tried not to show fear when Taikei saunters up to him before kneeling in front of him, leaning in close to his face.

"Do ya have ta ask, Berry-tan?" the pale man replied. "I mean…I have some dinner plans involvin' da old fart there…" then he dramatically paused as a lewd grin grew on his lips. "And _you_."

Ichigo blinked in confusion at this. "Me?" he asked.

"Ya'll be stickin' around for dessert…" then he tossed the rag doll's leg in front of him as he stood up; his grin never leaving his face. "And this time…ya won't be getting' away." Taikei turned and walked away, making Ichigo glare heatedly at him before reaching out between the bars to grab his missing limb with his fixed hand.

"Fucking bastard…" he muttered before getting started on his other hand.

"You know this man?"

Ichigo looked up from his sewing and stared at the old man. Even though he doesn't show it, he knew that the old timer was scared shitless for whatever that boogie man planned. The orangenet sighed before turning his attention to his leg.

"It's not something that I want to talk about…" he said.

_Not after what happened…_

To Be Continued…

They say that the past will catch up to you eventually…and if it does, what will happen?

Will the encounter be pleasant or something far worse than Death?

Next time on Two Holidays, One Wish…

Are you scared yet?

Sorry if the chapter is shorter than usual(and seemed rushed), but does anyone wonder what happened to Sally and Sandy Claws after the Boogie Man captured them? I can't be the only person who wonders about this!

Author's Note(s) - 1. Noriaki and Tim: Noriaki refers to the real name of Tite Kubo, the creator of _BLEACH _and Tim refers to the Tim Burton, the creator of all that is dark, quirky, and awesome.

**Bad Day Dream Omake presents:**

_**Saturday… March 24, year…um, unimportant…**_

_**7 o'clock a.m.**_

_**Detention.**_

_**Five students enter, with absolutely nothing in common. But after today…things will never be the same…**_

**Aizen: I'm pleased to see you all here to make it on time…**

**Ichigo: -raises hand- Excuse me? I think there is some sort of mistake here. You know, this is some retro teen clique unification movie yaoi-parody cliché created by a warped mind of some woman-child…I don't think I belong…**_**here**_**. **

**-Ichigo looks cautiously at his fellow detention mates, which consists of Grimmjow, Starrk, Taikei, and Gin; each one grins at him predatorily-**

_**From the makers of Bad Day Dreams and Two Holidays, One Wish…**_

_**Meet…**_

_**The Rebel…**_

**Grimmjow: Yeah…I gotta question, Aizen. Does Lady Gaga know that you stole her wardrobe for an upcoming music video?**

_**The Psycopath…**_

**Taikei: So, you don't believe me huh?**

**Ichigo: No.**

**Taikei: No!?**

**Ichigo: Do I stutter?!**

**Taikei: Do you believe THIS? -pulls out a photo of Ichigo sleeping in his bed- **

**Ichigo:…Ok, I believe you now.**

_**The Lazy Bum: **_

**Ichigo: Whipped cream…chocolate syrup…strawberries?!**

**Starrk:…-falls asleep-**

**Ichigo: Who falls asleep in lunch hours?!**

_**The Class Clown:**_

**Ichigo: You wanna know the truth?**

**Gin: Yes, I want da truth.**

**Ichigo: You're a freak!**

_**And the Jail Bait:**_

**Ichigo: I RESENT THAT LABEL!**

_**They only met once, but it would be one Hell of a day in **_

_**The Breakfast Club – Bleach style**_

**Ichigo: So, we have to write an essay about who we are? How about we write an essay called "What the Hell are we doing in this sorry excuse for an omake"!?**

_**Coming soon to nowhere**_

_**This omake is meant to be a parody of the 1985 film **__**The Breakfast Club. **__**Copy-right is to Tite Kubo of Bleach and director/writer John Hughes. No one by the name of Ichigo was harmed during the making of this omake. Anything asked will be denied.**_


End file.
